


Within Dishonor

by Shattered_Valor



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on deviantArt, Drama, Gen, Horror, Mystery, Slow Build Everything, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2017-10-27
Packaged: 2018-09-06 15:11:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8757565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shattered_Valor/pseuds/Shattered_Valor
Summary: Something sinister is brewing in Vale and Beacon and it's up to a few huntsmen-and-huntresses-in-training and maybe a villain or two to figure out what's going on before it's too late. How far can the mind be stretched before it shatters? How far would one go to keep his/her "honor?" Inspired by The Evil Within. AU-setting. Rating may change in the future.





	1. System Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ozpin's acting stranger than usual and something is terribly wrong in Vale...

**Warnings: AU-setting, Language, Mentions of Violence and Blood**

* * *

 

**System Setup**

**Thursday Evening: Beacon Academy, Courtyard**

Ruby fondly observed her friends seated on the grass as she relaxed on a tree branch. A small smile graced her lips while they interacted. Yang's boisterous voice rang loud throughout the mostly empty courtyard as she challenged Sun to an arm wrestling match. Unfortunately, the monkey Faunus agreed and the two made their way over to a tree stump followed by Yatsuhashi; Ruby assumed he was there to mediate the match. Weiss, Neptune, and Pyrrha casually discussed news they heard from their respective kingdoms, Atlas and Mistral. Apparently, changes headed into Remnant's everyday life, but Ruby couldn't follow what her friends discussed.

Meanwhile, Ren tried in vain prevent Nora from pummeling Cardin. Scarlet stood nearby, readily cheered her on, and volunteered to join in. Sage simply rubbed his temples. Cardin happened to walk through the courtyard and made a snide remark about Ren and Nora's relationship (or lack thereof). When Nora's eyes sparked with violence, the leader of Team CRDL sprinted out of the area with a speed which almost rivaled Ruby's. _Looks like someone's been exercising, as if that would stop Nora._ Ren let his friend and Scarlet hunt the bully down before he released a heavy sigh. Scarlet's partner, Sage, groaned and went to sit by Fox, who lounged in the grass. Nothing could stop the wrath of the Valkyrie or the temperamental redhead of Team SSSN. Turning her attention elsewhere, Ruby noticed Blake and Velvet as they talked about a novel they read for Doctor Oobleck's class. _I've never seen Blake so relaxed or Velvet with a smile as big as that. Although, I think her smile is bigger when Coco is around..._

Silver eyes flicked across the courtyard to see the leader of Team CFVY speaking with Jaune. Suddenly, the two looked over at the branch Ruby sat on and gestured her over. _I wonder what's up..._ The red-cloaked girl hopped down and made her way to the other two leaders. A closer look at the two revealed Coco's tense posture and Jaune's thinly veiled distress.

"Is something the matter?" Ruby's eyes darted from the fashionista to her best guy friend.

Jaune chuckled nervously, "W-well..."

"C'mon Arc, man up!" Coco huffed and turned to face the younger girl, "Yes. We have a bit of a problem. It involves Leadership Arts Class."

Ruby nodded in understanding but raised her eyebrow. "It's a tough class, but I figured you two wouldn't have a problem with this week's assignment.'

"We didn't have a problem!" The blond knight insisted as he rested his fists on his sides. "It's just...we didn't uh...go into Vale in time."

"What Jaune is trying to say is: we didn't make the report." Coco crossed her arms and a scowl formed on her lips.

"Really? I mean, I understand. It's been crazy recently because of all the preparations for the end of the year and the weird stuff that's happened in the city, but you two could have put aside some time to get your report done. We're meeting early in the morning tomorrow and Headmaster Ozpin isn't as lenient as when he _isn't_ teaching..." Ruby pursed her lips. "Even Cardin and I managed to get into Vale for the information..."

"Aw man..." Jaune groaned and placed his head in his hands.

Coco took off her sunglasses for a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose. "In any case, Ruby, do you think you can lend us a hand?"

The young leader nodded, "Sure thing! The place you two want to go is: the rundown hospital outside of the agricultural district."

The older teens shared a confused look. The younger teen crossed her arms behind her as she patiently waited for their next question. _Why go to a rundown hospital?_ She furrowed her brow as she thought back to why she went there. A blurry image of Cardin complaining as he held the door for her came to the forefront of her memories. _To be honest,_ I _thought we'd end up asking for help at one of the police stations or one of the wall patrols._ Another image came to mind: Cardin kneeling beside her as they inspected an odd black splotch on the ground. Ruby shook her head from her thoughts and focused on her friends.

"Why a rundown hospital?" Jaune wondered, his eyebrows knitted together.

"You'd think our assignment would involve a police station..." Coco trailed off.

Ruby hummed with a nod. "That's what Cardin and I thought, you know, since our partnership involves 'keeping the law' like yours does. I don't think this assignment plays into the roles we have as partners this time around."

"Alright then," The fashionista adjusted her beret with a sigh. "Looks like you and I have a time limit to get that report done, Jaune."

"Oh joy..."

Ruby shook her head at her blond friend. "Do you two need anything else?"

"No, but **—** "

 **BOOM!** Turning to find the source of the explosion, Ruby noticed everyone else stopped to look at Sun and Yang. The two blondes argued about something. _Oh boy..._ She took a step towards the two, but she paused to listen to what they had to say first. _Wait..._ _What's going on?_

"Oh yeah? Why don't you suck two **—** " Sun's voice suddenly went quiet.

Ruby felt someone's hands on her ears and turned to see Coco. The older girl's face remained unreadable as she cupped her hands around Ruby's ears. Off to the side, the red-cloaked leader saw Jaune turn beet red. His sapphire eyes gradually widened, but never turned away from the argument as it unfolded. All Ruby understood was that it was about sucking something.

* * *

 

**Sometime Later...**

Once Yang and Sun calmed down, Coco uncovered Ruby's ears. When asked about what happened, Coco simply replied "Nothing that your young ears should hear." Ruby huffed at the reply but dropped the subject. Ruby looked over at her friends. She saw Weiss and Neptune berate their teammates. The young teen rolled her eyes at their antics before she turned to face her fellow leaders. Their heads turned down and their faces noticeably paled. **Beep-beep.** Ruby realized why they looked sick once she pulled out her scroll.

_"Report to Classroom 451 for Leadership Arts, immediately."_

Once she put away her scroll, Ruby grimaced as the other two trudged to the classroom. _Someone_ must _tell the others we'll be leaving for a bit._ Once she realized that she was the one left with that task, Ruby hurried over to the group. She nearly tripped over herself in her rush; the young girl felt her cheeks flush. Seconds later, everyone's focus shifted onto her.

"Coco, Jaune, and I are heading out for a bit. Something came up." Silver eyes locked onto Sun briefly, "You might need to come with us, Sun."

Neptune shifted his gaze between the two in suspicion. "What's going on?"

"Yeah, there's no reason for me to **—** " Sun quieted at Ruby's hard stare.

"There's _business_ that we need to take care of." _I can't tell the others what's going on; it's a price I cannot afford to pay._

The monkey Faunus nodded, "Right, I forgot. How come I didn't get the memo?"

Ruby paused at that. _Why didn't he get a message? Leadership Arts is for all the leaders in attendance, Beacon students or otherwise..._ She shrugged in response only to see everyone focused on her. She squirmed beneath their gazes and looked to the ground. _Remember what the Headmaster said, Ruby. Remember: Do not tell your team about this class; the burdens of a leader should not burden the team. Failure to follow this rule will result in failure of the class...and the team._ It wasn't the greatest rule in history, but Ruby figured it meant to teach them something; what the lesson was remained a mystery. _Cardin and I will probably investigate after this meeting._

"Do you need me to come along? If there's going to be a fight, then you'll need some muscle." Yang's protective nature came out again.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby shook her head, "Nah. We'll be fine."

"What exactly are you four doing?" Blake queried.

"Look, we need to go. We'll be back soon!" Ruby latched on to Sun's collar and sped off towards Classroom 451.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Classroom 451**

Ozpin sighed as he stood before his students. The green-clad man rolled his shoulders back. He drummed his fingers against his cane and quietly took note of those present. **Bang!** Suddenly, the doors swung open to reveal an out-of-breath Ruby Rose tugging along a bewildered Sun Wukong. Ozpin frowned at the sight of the monkey Faunus. Not out of spite but out of confusion. The message wasn't supposed to reach to the leaders of visiting teams. He tightened his grip on his cane. Effortlessly skirting over the brief interruption, Ozpin continued with the meeting after he sipped from his mug. The minor hiccup will be corrected as time went on.

"Now, I understand that some of you are confused as to why we're meeting now instead of tomorrow morning." Many of the students nodded, while the recent arrivals quickly found some seats. "However, it came to my attention that circumstances in Vale are less than satisfactory. My comrades are currently...indisposed, so the burden falls upon you. My students, are you willing to take up the heavy mantle of huntsmen and huntresses to go into Vale and resolve this issue?"

* * *

 

**Courtyard**

"What was _that_ all about?" Neptune wondered, as he rubbed at his chin.

Yang peered at the hallway, into which the leaders disappeared, before she slammed her right fist into her left palm. _One way or another, I'm going to find out what's up with my sister._ The others around her noticed her determined gaze. Yang looked to her teammates only to receive a neutral stare and a glare of disapproval.

"We should follow them and see what they're up to!" Yang's eyes glinted. "I mean, what's with all the secrecy? They've never had reason to hide things from us before."

Blake shook her head with a good-natured smile. "As curious as I am, I think we shouldn't snoop into their business."

"Following them will most likely land us in some sort of trouble; I'm siding with Blake on this one." Weiss crossed her arms and sent a look at her blonde teammate.

"If it were something important, surely our friends would let us know." Pyrrha chimed in with a kind smile. "I'm sure we have nothing to worry about."

"I don't know..." Fox muttered from his spot in the grass. "Coco isn't one to leave without a word of goodbye."

"Well, her goodbyes aren't necessarily words," Velvet's cheeks flushed, "but it's a unique gesture."

"She slaps your guys' asses." Blake deadpanned.

Before the brunette could respond, Yang snickered. Lilac eyes trailed around the circle of teens to meet Nora's mirthful gaze. The two girls' laughter echoed throughout the mostly empty courtyard. _That's one heck of a goodbye, I'll bet._ Yang's snickers stopped once Blake smacked her upside the head. The dark-haired Faunus sent her a look, while Ren tried in vain to calm Nora down.

"It's a team thing!" The rabbit Faunus' face became beet red. "I... I can't really explain it beyond that!"

"Thank goodness it's only a Team CFVY thing." Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "I'd rather not have someone's hand near my posterior."

 _I bet it depends on the person touching that rear end._ _Time to make the Ice Queen have a meltdown._ Yang smirked down at her white-haired teammate and discreetly nudged her. The heiress batted her away for a moment. Unfortunately for her, Yang wasn't one to give up easily. Once the blonde had the heiress' attention, Yang nodded her head over at Neptune and then wiggled her eyebrows. Weiss's face remained neutral for a moment, before it became bright red.

"Quit it, you oaf!"

* * *

 

**Classroom 451**

"As a reminder, some of you will be dropped off at the city's edge, while others patrol Vale for any suspicious activity." Ozpin's tired voice echoed in the quiet room. "Those who are within the city are to seek out Professor Goodwitch for further briefing, while those outside the city must see Professor Port."

The green-clad man sighed heavily before he sipped from his mug. "The rules of Leadership Arts apply to your mission, therefore any contact between you and your teams concerning this situation is highly discouraged. If any trace of communication is found between you and your teams, there _will_ be consequences. Remember, overseeing a group and keeping it in order is a badge as well as a burden. Now, any questions?"

Silence fell over the young adults like a thousand-ton weight. The leaders present ranged from first-years all the way to fourth-years and, except for Sun Wukong, all the leaders were students of Beacon Academy. It was no secret that Beacon was _the_ most prestigious academy in all of Remnant; if not, then it stood as one of the most prestigious academies known to Remnant. However, it seemed at this moment the students reconsidered their positions. Was the stress truly worth it, a leader's burden, without any way of lessening or escaping it? It made little sense, since other classes put an emphasis on teamwork and partners' synergy. Then again, they trusted Ozpin, who possessed much more experience than any students could ever have. The rules were set for a reason.

"Headmaster?" A pale-eyed boy seated towards the exit raised his hand.

"Yes, Mr. Darke?"

The young man shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "You said this mission could take a few days and that most, if not all, of our professors will be on scene with us. What should we tell our teams? What is going to happen to Beacon's classes?"

"Your teams will become part of a training regimen which was put together by some of Remnant's greatest huntsmen and huntresses for the duration of your mission. As for your absence, I can assure you, I will inform them of the news." Ozpin's eyes darkened a bit at the end of his reply.

Another student raised a hand. "Yes, Miss Sable?"

"How come leaders of visiting teams weren't called in for the meeting?"

The headmaster took a long gulp from his mug. "Everything is done for a reason, Miss Sable. Class dismissed."

Ozpin watched as Ruby shot up out of her seat, prepared to dash out of the door. His eyes darted over to Jaune, who trudged towards the exit. The green-clad man focused on the young leader of Team RWBY once again. Ruby held the door for the rest of her classmates while she waited for her friends. Before the entire class filed out of the room, Ozpin cleared his throat and called out to four of them.

"Investigators Rose and Winchester, Sentinels Adel and Arc, please make your way to my office."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Standing awkwardly in front of Ozpin's desk, Ruby eyed the green-clad man. _It's weird not seeing Professor Goodwitch standing near him. I wonder why he's acting weird for this mission._ The man's brown eyes met her gaze briefly. A brief glint of _something_ laid behind his gaze, but for the life of her, Ruby couldn't figure it out with one glance. _Now that's weird... Hopefully, the others saw it..._ Ozpin's eyes trailed over the other three students before he settled behind his desk.

"I've paired you four to the best of my ability, so that you may capitalize on certain abilities as leaders and as partners." He focused on Ruby and Cardin. "Investigators Rose and Winchester, I assigned you together because of your observant natures.

"Mr. Winchester, you possess an eye for picking out suspicious—as well as weak—people from a crowd. Unfortunately, you use this skill to bully them, but I'm sure Miss Rose will help you resolve those tendencies eventually. Now, Miss Rose, you detect slight changes in people's behaviors and in the environment; your problem lies with communicating your findings and I hope that Mr. Winchester's...nature will help you communicate more."

The two leaders shared a look before they faced the headmaster once more with a nod, and Ozpin moved on to Coco and Jaune. "As for you two, I assigned you to the position of 'Sentinel' for its focus on patience and its need for confidence.

"Miss Adel, you are a strong and confident girl, currently, with skills far above that of your peers. However, you lack patience in social settings, which can lead to fights that are easily avoided. Time with Mr. Arc should aid you in this venture. Mr. Arc, you are quite a patient person as not many would be able to keep up with Miss Valkyrie or handle other social situations as well as you have so far. You lack confidence in your abilities and while being paired with Miss Adel should help, the job itself will help your self-esteem."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck, looking down at the ground. "R-right..."

Coco adjusted her sunglasses and glanced briefly at her assigned partner. "Sure can do, Headmaster."

"If you don't mind me asking, sir." Cardin cleared his throat, "Why did you ask us to come up here?"

"I needed to reiterate what I've said in the past." The headmaster's eyes glinted strangely yet again. "It is to help you understand your mission. You'll see the importance of your skills later, I'm sure."

Ruby narrowed her eyes at Ozpin's statement. _I hate it when he's vague. This time is worse than usual..._ She forced her expression into a neutral one as Ozpin focused on her again. Brown eyes shimmered, but it wasn't because tears formed in them. The shimmer suddenly disappeared the more Ruby focused on it. Something seemed off with the headmaster. _Looks like Cardin and I will have another off-record investigation when we come back, if Ozpin keeps acting like this._ Ozpin's eyes moved on to focus on something behind his students.

"Now, you four should prepare well for the coming days. The bullheads leave later tonight; make the most of the time you have with your teams while you still have it and pack everything you need."

The students blanched at his statement, but he simply waved them off before he stood up from his chair; the man walked over to his window and crossed his arms behind his back. Ruby sent a backwards glance at him once she darted into the elevator. She furrowed her brow at his calm demeanor, but kept quiet as the others entered the elevator.

* * *

 

**Evening: Vale Skies, Bullhead**

Seated across from her friends, Ruby leaned back against her seat. The bullhead wavered for a moment and jostled the teen's head against the wall. She muttered a quiet "Ow" before she resettled herself in her seat. An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach and refused to leave her alone. _Focus, Ruby, focus..._ She drummed her fingers along the compact weapon in her lap. _We're working with other leaders, as well as professional huntsmen and huntresses. We'll be back with our friends in no time._ Ruby exhaled and shut her eyes. _I wish I hugged Yang goodbye though..._ A moment later, something flicked the side of her head.

"Hey!" Silver eyes glared up at none other than Cardin Winchester.

The bully rolled his eyes. "You've got nothing to worry about, Pipsqueak. We won't be gone long."

"You didn't have to flick me to tell me that, Jerkface." She glowered, her bottom lip stuck out in a childish pout.

"Ah, c'mon, no need for that face, Pipsqueak." Cardin gently elbowed her, "I need my partner focused on the field after all. Wouldn't want you to lose your head."

Ruby's expression softened. "Aw, I didn't know you cared so much, Jerkface."

Across from them, Jaune gazed at them as if they were the strangest beings on the planet. "Did I...miss something here? Since when did you two get along?"

"Long story, Arc," The bully replied, without a sneer. "Let's just say, time with Ruby has had positive effects."

Even Coco looked at them funny now. "Really?"

The blonde knight stared at Ruby, looking more sick than usual on a flight. "Are you two **—** "

"Ew, no!" The red-cloaked girl vigorously shook her head. "We get along better than we did before, but not enough to _date_."

Beside her, the tall boy feigned a hurt expression. "Ouch. I don't meet your standards?"

"Well, if you weren't a bully and had better control of your ego..." Ruby trailed off, a thoughtful look formed on her features.

"You aren't seriously considering this, are you?" Coco lowered her sunglasses to get a better look at the girl.

Jaune paled at the thought of his best friend, whom he saw as a little sister, dating his former tormentor. "Ruby, don't even think about it! Yang wouldn't approve and as one of your closest friends, _I_ don't approve!"

Cardin's grin faded away into a thin line, a bead of sweat suddenly trailed down his temple. "H-hey, that's enough screwing around Pipsqueak. C'mon, I was joking, so quit it."

"I mean if it really came down to it..." Everyone's breath hitched as the girl continued, "I'd say: 'Nah.'"

"Oh thank God." Coco muttered, sending a dark look in the bully's direction. "I'd hate to see you to paired together in that way. Velvet and I would greatly disapprove."

Jaune let out a sigh of relief and leaned his head back against the wall. Ruby watched as he shut his eyes to let himself think. Beside her, Cardin huffed at Coco's statement but seemed to relax once the red-clad teen confirmed that she didn't like him in a romantic sense. He crossed his arms and focused on the floor. Ruby let her shoulders fall as she too relaxed.

"Jeez, Coco, you make it sound like you're my caretaker or something." Ruby halfheartedly glared at the older girl.

The fashionista shrugged, "Someone has to take care of you when Yang isn't around."

"...I appreciate that." The girl murmured, but everyone heard her. "Anyway, let's just not discuss all this weird stuff _ever_ again. Please?"

Three voices chorused their agreement, only to be shortly followed by raucous laughter.

* * *

 

**Vale, City Plaza**

Once the four landed, a disheveled blonde woman hastily approached them. When she got closer, they finally recognized her: Professor Goodwitch. Her normally well-kept hair had become undone, suspicious-looking splatter marks stained her clothes, and her emerald eyes contained a fear the students never expected to see in them. Despite this apparent fear, the woman's voice remained calm and authoritative as usual as she directed the students out of their bullhead. She attempted to get the pilot out, but the man refused to leave his post.

While the two adults argued, Ruby took in her surroundings. Makeshift tents lined the square with many severely injured citizens lying on the ground. Off to the side, the red-cloaked girl noted a few wounded huntsmen and huntresses talking amongst themselves. Other able-bodied hunters patrolled the area, weapons ready in their hands. She recognized a few huntsmen and huntresses who occasionally visited Beacon. _Maybe I can ask them a few questions...then again, the looks on their faces are so haunted already..._

"Yo Pipsqueak!" Cardin's voice broke her from her observations. "We gotta keep moving!"

Silver eyes darted over to the young man and saw him and the others follow Professor Goodwitch to one of the makeshift tents.

"You four need a good reason for being here!" Professor Goodwitch brushed a few stray locks away from her face and glared disapprovingly at her students.

"I don't understand." Jaune crossed his arms and gazed at anything that wasn't his professor. "The headmaster sent us here for a mission."

"What's going on, Professor? Vale seemed perfectly fine two days ago; Cardin and I visited for one of our reports." Ruby chimed in as she curiously observed the woman.

"Ozpin did what?!" The look on her face made the teens pale. "I sent him a message about this! I warned him of Vale's instability and to send in rescue teams!"

 **Clack-clack-clack.** **Tshik-tshhik.** The sound of footsteps neared them, followed by the sound of something scraping along the ground. All five hunters turned to see a battered, bloodied, one-armed huntsman drag in an unconscious person. **Clack-clack-clack. Tshik-tshhik.** He paid them no mind as he slowly made his way to one of the cots on the ground. The huntsman knelt and attempted to roll the injured person onto the cot. Ruby rushed over to help him once she realized his dilemma. **Thud.** The man stood up and nodded gratefully at the young teen before he gave everyone else an acknowledging nod.

"Ah, you're back." Professor Goodwitch's expression remained neutral. "That's one less huntsman casualty to worry about."

"Snippy as ever," The man replied, adjusting his purple-tinted glasses. "Any explanation as to why some students are here?"

The professor crossed her arms. "I'm trying to figure that out right now. They say that Vale was fine two days ago, but we've been stationed here for at least a week already..."

Nodding, the man's accented voice rumbled in their ears once again. "Perhaps you should rest a bit longer, Miss Goodwitch. I shall help the students settle in."

"No, we need to figure out why **—** "

"Time to get a move on, you lot." The man ignored her and motioned for the students to follow him. "Miss Goodwitch is in dire need of sleep. You may speak with the other huntsmen and huntresses present."

* * *

 

The one-armed huntsman sent a glance back at the four students who followed him as he rolled his shoulders back. Ruby cleared her throat to grab the man's attention. Unfortunately, the act became an attention-grabber for anyone within twenty feet of the group. The young girl winced as she coughed the sudden dryness in her throat away, only to stumble forward due to Coco's slap on her back. _Way to make an impression, Ruby... Is this what Ozpin meant when he said I need to learn how to communicate?_

Fortunately, Jaune caught her arm before she fell flat on her face. "Are you okay, Ruby?"

"Yeah, totally fine." The red-clad leader sighed, "I wanted to... I'm trying to start a conversation."

"Way to go, Pipsqueak." Cardin quipped from his place beside her, only to be smacked upside the head by Coco. "Ow!"

"That is...certainly an icebreaker." The one-armed huntsman turned and smiled kindly at them. "However, it's fine to ask for my attention instead."

Ruby's face turned bright red as she hurried back onto her feet. "W-well... I didn't think of..."

She sighed and slumped her shoulders forward. Beside her, Cardin patted her shoulder reassuringly. Ruby sent him an appreciative glance and nudged his hand off her. The duo's actions earned the pair stranger looks from their classmates, but they ignored it in favor of following the one-armed man.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Dining Hall**

Weiss narrowed her eyes while she watched her peers. Something felt off, but she couldn't quite place what. After Ruby left Blake, Yang, and her alone for the rest of the night, things became pleasantly quiet. However, she no longer found it pleasant when she realized that the school became alarmingly silent. Other first-year teams awkwardly sat with one another, without a clue as to what happened. Older teams remained somber, a feeling of dread bubbled up whenever one looked at them.

A light tap on her shoulder jolted Weiss out of her thoughts. "Is it alright if we sit with you and your team?"

"No need to ask, feel free to sit down." The heiress replied once she recognized the voice, looking up revealed Velvet standing alongside Fox and Yatsuhashi.

"Thank you, Weiss." The rabbit Faunus took a seat across from the heiress only to lean towards her. "Say, you wouldn't happen to know where Coco is, would you?"

Shaking her head, the icy blue-eyed girl gazed at the brunette curiously. "I'm afraid I haven't. Did something happen?"

Velvet smiled gently, "Oh no, of course not. It's just... I can't help but feel like something's off."

"Same here," Yang chimed in as she sipped loudly from her glass. "Ruby left us alone not too long ago, wouldn't let me tag along... _again_. I'm starting to get really worried about her."

"Ruby isn't one to go off and do something without a good reason, I'm sure." Pyrrha's voice drifted into their ears as she and her team approached the table. "I doubt she means to put you under stress."

The blonde brawler shrugged, "I can't help it. I've taken care of her so long, it kinda becomes a habit."

Blake looked up from her book to greet their friends only to pause. "Is Jaune not here with you guys?"

Pyrrha's smile faltered. "I... I hoped he arrived here before us."

"Why isn't he with you anyway?" Weiss wondered. _It isn't like he has_ that _many friends outside of our circle. Rude as that statement is, that's the truth of the matter._

"I remember seeing him in the dorm with a backpack at the foot of his bed. He chatted with us for a bit and then left." The Spartan beauty wore a look of concern. "Do...do you believe something's wrong?"

Before she replied, Weiss was cut off by Nora. "Maybe _aliens_ abducted all of them! Or maybe they went on a top-secret mission where they cut all ties with their past and disappear off the face of Remnant for a few years until they destroyed a secret organization forever! Or they went to look for the ancient shrine of the _PANCAKE GODS_!"

"Nora, please, you're shouting again." Ren sighed at his childhood friend, placing a hand on her arm. "Besides, I doubt what's going on has anything to do with what you've mentioned."

"The pancake gods have yet to select their chosen one, Ren! They could've missed something; it could've been _me_! We should look for them immediately!" The wild child wore a face-splitting grin. "Your queen demands it!"

"Nora **—** "

"Wait, you kept saying 'they' and 'them.' Who are 'they,' if I may ask?" The heiress kept her attention on the pink-loving teen.

Scoffing, the redhead spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Jaune, Ruby, and Coco, of course! Who else is missing from our ragtag group anyway?"

Blake lowered her book onto the table, bookmarked her page, and gently closed it. "Disregarding Nora's...theories as to why they're gone, she brings up a good point. All of our team leaders are gone for some reason or other, but we don't _know_ that reason."

"Something strange is happening here..." Yatsuhashi hummed in thought as he crossed his arms.

"There's bound to be someone who knows what's going on." Fox quipped from his place at the table, reminding everyone of his presence. "Let's start asking around."

 **Ding-dong!** Before anyone could move, the sound of Ozpin's voice over the intercom entered their ears. _"Attention students, please return to your dorms immediately. Attention all students, please return to your dorms immediately."_

Narrowing her eyes as she reluctantly stood up to leave, Weiss placed her hands on her hips. "We need to figure out what's going on, _soon_."

* * *

 

**Vale, City Plaza**

Taking a seat across from the one-armed man, Ruby stifled a yawn. Her fatigue hit her harder than an incoming freight train. She tiredly gazed at the huntsman to see him calmly gazing at the sky. He noticed her eyes on him and slightly nodded his head towards her before removing his glasses. As he took his glasses off and brought out a cloth to rub at his eyes, Ruby looked to where her classmates settled down. Cardin propped himself up against a ruined store's wall, beginning to doze off. Jaune acquired a blanket, lying on it while using his backpack as a pillow. Coco had enough sense to bring her own sleeping equipment and set herself near the fire. _Strange, Ozpin told us most our mission was in Vale... At least her preparations came in handy, I should start doing that myself..._

Looking back towards the one-armed huntsman, Ruby found that he disappeared but then felt a blanket fall around her shoulders. "Did you four forget to rest before setting out on your mission? That is quite unwise."

"We were briefed on the mission earlier this evening." The red-cloaked leader brought the blanket closer to her body. "We didn't have enough time to put aside for rest; besides, a trip to Vale on a bullhead isn't long enough for a nap."

"I see." The huntsman settled back down on the crate he sat on earlier. "In any case, I assure you that any information I share with you is better heard in the morning. Rest as well as you can now. I'll remember **—** "

A shrill shriek tore through the air; it shattered any sense of peace and replaced it with abject terror and alertness. A terrified scream and inhuman snarls closely followed the shriek. Snapping out of her sleepiness as well as her blanket, Ruby rushed to her feet and moved her hand towards Crescent Rose. Before her fingers even grazed the surface of her weapon, the sound of gunshots filled the air. **Boom-boom-boom! Bang! Bang! Bang! Pa-boom, pa-boom, pa-boom!** In the distance, a large orange glow appeared. **BOOM! Fwoosh!** A hand rested on her shoulder, forcing Ruby to focus on her immediate surroundings.

"Whoa there, kiddo." A huntress with red and green streaks in her white hair appeared in Ruby's vision. "We'll take care of things, alright? You and your friends just arrived, and you probably don't know what's going on."

A sullen-looking, giant of a man scoffed as he tried to calm Cardin down, "Yes. Everything _always_ okay in Hell."

Glaring at the heavily-accented man, the huntress forced Ruby to focus on her. "Don't mind the big guy, alright?"

Nodding numbly, the girl allowed the woman to spread out her blanket on the ground. Ruby slowly settled down on the ground and wrapped her cloak around herself. The huntress brought Ruby's backpack over and placed it underneath the teen's head. Gently patting Ruby's arm, the woman stood up and left with the sullen man following soon after. The two muttered quietly to themselves as they walked through the camp. _What is going on here?!_

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Removing his finger from the intercom button, the silver-haired man sighed heavily. He returned his gaze onto the student who sat before him, a frown quickly forming on his features. Ozpin drummed his fingers on his desk in annoyance. The boy didn't need to come to his office in the first place if he had simply stayed put. Thankfully, fixing problems like this became easier as time went on. With a sigh, the green-clad man stopped tapping his desk.

"I hope we've come to an understanding, then." Ozpin leaned forward, his elbows propped up on the desk with his hands folded together. "Nothing happened earlier, correct?"

A blond young man sat before him with a faraway look in his eyes. "Of course, Headmaster. Nothing happened; I simply got lost in the hallways and wandered in on accident."

"Very good," The green-clad man allowed a small smile to break his facade before it reverted to a neutral expression. "Leave my office."

Standing up immediately and bowing his head, the blond stiffly turned away from the man's desk. With some unknown purpose, the young man strode into the elevator. Ozpin frowned as he noticed how the teen's movements seemed stiff and unnatural. Turning to face the buttons, the teen's monkey tail dragged along the floor and the faraway look in his eyes remained. Once the elevator doors closed, Ozpin rested his chin on top of his folded hands as he forced away his frown.

"I'd hate to ruin things so early. The game hasn't begun yet."

* * *

 

**Thank you for reading. Constructive criticism is appreciated and speculations are always fun to toy with, if any are around.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare yourselves. The game has yet to begin.


	2. Select the Stage, Set the Board

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Suspicions are rising in Beacon while our heroes in Vale are finally getting some answers.

**Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters belong to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.**

**Warnings: Language**

* * *

 

  **Select the Stage, Set the Board**

**? ? ?**

With a groan, a woman sat up in the midst of an unfamiliar scene. Her curious eyes roamed the immediate area. Ruined buildings encased the area and numerous injured people lied within scattered tents all around the square. The atmosphere felt uncomfortably heavy and ominous; its weight nearly suffocated the poor woman. As she inhaled, the noxious scent of blood and decay filled her lungs. _Where am I?_ Pushing up off the ground, she stood up and stretched her arms out behind her. Suddenly, a shriek pierced through the air. Becoming alert, the woman fell into a fighting stance only to notice something wrong. _This isn't my combat gear...why does this look like **—**_

"What are you doing just standing there?!" She looked over at a distorted image of Cardin Winchester as he hefted his mace on to his shoulder.

Beside the bully stood a hazy Jaune Arc, who pointed his sword in a direction away from the camp. "We need to keep moving; this place is compromised!"

_Compromised? Why is this place compromised?_ Where _are we anyway?_ Before she could reply, a blurry Ruby Rose rushed over with dozens of rose petals left in her wake. "I'll cover you guys!"

"What's going **—** "

Once again, the person was interrupted but this time, the scene shifted. The buildings around her tilted and she went with them. Cardin, Jaune, and Ruby disappeared as something coiled around their waists and yanked them out of sight. Letting out a scream, she felt her insides twist as she fell backwards at an alarming rate. Covering her face, the woman felt her side skid against a wall. **THUD!** Her back collided with the floor, ending her descent. The woman planted her palms on the ground and tried to steady her breathing. Suddenly, she rolled to the side and discovered that the "wall" she skidded across was the floor and the "floor" she hit was a wall. _What on Remnant is this place? What happened to Cardin, Jaune, and Ruby?_ Forcing herself into a standing position, something fell over the woman's eyes.

"What on Remnant..." _That isn't my voice..._

Removing the item to inspect it, she held a beret in her hand. _Is...is this my beret? Coco took it away and..._ An uneasy sensation washed over her. _Something is very wrong here. But at least that explains why my voice isn't the same._ Shaking her head, the woman placed the beret back on her head and slowly made her way down the hallway. Her footsteps echoed throughout the lonely hallway, which felt as if it went on forever. Before she reached the end, the ground trembled and cracked. Barbed wire sprung out from the cracks and coiled around her legs. The wire dug deep into her skin and blood flowed out of the wounds.

She let out a terrified scream as the wire dragged her into the rocky depths below.

* * *

 

**Early Friday Morning: Beacon Academy, Team CFVY dorm**

"AHHH!" Velvet screwed her eyes tight as she struggled with her covers.

**Th-thunk! Th-thunk!** Someone rushed over to her bedside. Firm, gentle hands forced her to remain still. Velvet's nose scrunched up in pain and a whimper passed her lips. The Faunus fought against the hands. Velvet screamed, kicked, and slapped at the person's arms. She squirmed toward the edge of her bed, attempting to free herself. The person above her tightened his grip. The rabbit Faunus screamed louder, tears began forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Velvet, you're okay." A strong voice rumbled in her ears, "You're safe."

Slowly, the teen stopped her struggles. "I... I am?"

"Mmhmm." **Squeak!** Velvet felt herself move up on the bed as the hands' owner sat beside her.

Opening her eyes, the Faunus blearily stared up at the person who held her down. She blinked away the blurriness out of her eyes and saw Yatsuhashi hovering over her. Velvet wiped away the tears that had escaped her eyes. Once he saw her recognize him, the giant teen removed his hands but remained seated beside his friend. Cautiously, Velvet sat up and took in her surroundings. Familiar cream-colored walls greeted her, as well as the sight of her other teammate, Fox. With purposeful steps, he walked over to her. A concerned expression rested in place of his usually neutral facade.

He reached out towards her and she gladly took hold of his hand. "That must have been one hell of a nightmare."

Wiping away the newly formed tears from her eyes, Velvet sighed. "I...it felt so real. I wasn't even..."

"Vel?"

Yatsuhashi wrapped an arm around his friend. "Everything is alright. Whatever your nightmare was isn't real. It probably will never be real."

"Yes, well..." The rabbit Faunus's voice faltered as she shut her eyes again. "Thank you two."

"No problem, Vel. If you ever want to talk about it, you can tell us at any time." Fox released her hand and made his way over to his drawers. "Better get ready for the day now."

"That sounds like an excellent idea." Velvet agreed as she swung her legs over her bed before pausing. "Is Coco still not here?"

"She didn't come in at all." Yatsuhashi replied as he stood up and backed away from the bed, looking worriedly down at his partner. "I know you stayed up late waiting for her, but **—** "

"Don't worry about it, Yatsuhashi. I... I was simply wondering." Velvet wiped away the last of her tears and began to get ready for the day. _I hope she's alright..._

* * *

 

**Vale, Plaza Resting Tent 36**

As she sat up, Coco groaned and rubbed the side of her head. "Hell of a nightmare..."

Reaching over to her side to pick up her beret and sunglasses, the fashionista noticed a rabbit seated on her hat. Its nose wiggled as it rested on the fashionista's cap. The teen in question gently lifted the animal off her hat and smiled fondly at the critter. The rabbit simply settled in her lap. Leaning back on her left arm, she stroked the rabbit's fur with her free hand. The rabbit's eyes gradually began to close and the critter seemed to doze off in the fashionista's lap.

"What's a cute thing like you doing in a place like this, huh? I wonder how you avoided all the monsters." Coco felt a smile spreading across her features. "You remind me of someone dear to me..."

"Oh hey, you're up!" Turning her attention to her partner's voice, the fashionista raised an eyebrow.

Jaune's arms were filled to the brim with unusually large cans that contained some sort of liquid. She could tell due to how the liquid jumped whenever he stumbled on his way over to her. **Shlop! Shlop!** Disregarding the accompanying noise, Coco went back to petting her cute, little companion only to see it long gone and out of sight. Coco let out a disappointed sigh before putting on her beret and sunglasses. Getting up onto her feet, she dusted off her clothes and turned to see Jaune handing one of the cans to Ruby, who stood hunched over some crates. The red-cloaked girl thanked her friend before she sent Coco a friendly wave. A smile spread across the older teen's lips as she returned the gesture.

Finally making her way over to the two, Coco peered at what the younger girl worked on. "What's all this?"

"Professor Goodwitch let me have one of the maps the huntsmen and huntresses sketched out. It shows us all the 'safe areas' and the heavily infested areas; we need to figure out where we're going before we can get anything done today."

_Impressive..._ "Looks like you've got everything under control, Ruby. But, if you need help, just say so."

"Got it! Thanks, Coco." The red-clad girl focused on the map once more; she occasionally jotted notes down in her notebook.

"Here you go, partner." Jaune smiled at the fashionista, offering her one of the cans.

"Uh..." Raising an eyebrow, Coco accepted the offered item but looked inside it warily. "I'm not usually picky on missions, but is...is this soup?"

Nodding, the blond knight handed her a large spoon. "It isn't much, but that's all we can spare around here. They've got a ton of mouths to feed; oh, and be sure to save the cans. They're the only things we have to hold any food."

"Alright then," The fashionista shrugged and brought some broth to her lips. _This mission isn't what we were led to believe at all…_

* * *

 

**Morning: Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Staring out his window, Ozpin focused on the distant city of Vale. He took a sip from his ever-present coffee mug and narrowed his eyes. A few students became far too inquisitive since the previous night. The circumstances shouldn't concern them so much; he meticulously arranged everything, down to even the smallest, most mundane detail. Victory hovered right outside of everyone's grasp after all. People simply needed a push in the right direction. Is that not what the council  _wanted_? Pushing people toward progress, toward  _victory_? Ozpin orchestrated everything in a way that would provide some sort of result, whether for good or ill. It didn't matter which way the wind blew; the only thing that mattered was if that wind could be harnessed for another purpose. His purpose? A righteous one, that is certain; no one will convince him otherwise.

Ozpin waved his hand across his window, a brief light emitted from the glass. In the distance, he saw numerous columns of smoke rise from Vale. The water surrounding the city no longer visible due to the heavy layer of fog settled on top of it. His gaze turned towards the faint outline of Patch. From this vantage point, he could not distinguish much but Ozpin felt something emanating from the island. A sense of...a sense of something quite unfamiliar to the green-clad man. With another swipe of his hand, the window shimmered and a lively city surrounded by a vibrant blue sea replaced the dreary city's image.

Time to focus on the matters at hand.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Dining Hall**

Jabbing a fork at her breakfast, Yang moodily grumbled under her breath as her thoughts went into overdrive. _What is up with Ruby anyway? Is she going through a "phase?"_ Yang shuddered at the thought of dealing with a severely moody Ruby as opposed to an energetic Ruby. _Did I do something to upset her? I hope not... Why didn't she come back to the dorm?_ Fortunately, the blonde's demeanor didn't disturb those who sat with her. Lilac eyes trailed over the students seated alongside her. The others lost themselves in their own thoughts concerning yesterday's events. **Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!** Eyes widening, Yang looked over to the cause of the sound only to see Team SSSN seating themselves beside Teams RWBY and JNPR.

"Morning, everyone. I see you're all in high spirits." Neptune drawled, his eyes worriedly searched his friends' faces for answers. "What's up?"

"Things are...complicated at the moment, Neptune." Weiss exhaled sharply, propped an elbow on the table, and rested her chin in her hand.

"You're telling us..." Scarlet grumbled and jabbed a finger at his leader. "Our _glorious_ leader's been giving us that blank look since last night."

Ren peered curiously at the monkey Faunus. "He does seem...out of it. Did something happen to him?"

"We don't know." Sage sighed, eyeing his leader worriedly. "He won't give us any answers when we ask."

Blake frowned, one of the tips of her bow slightly twitching. "Sun?"

"Hm?" The blond turned his head to face her but refused to meet her gaze. "What is it?"

"I'd appreciate it if you'd look at me when I'm talking to you." One of the brunette's eyes slightly twitched in annoyance.

His gaze didn't waver as he focused on something past Blake. _What's he staring at?_ Glancing between her partner and the monkey Faunus, Yang followed Sun's gaze to figure out what the blond looked at. She found nothing but other pensive-looking students. _First it was Ruby, Jaune, and Coco; now, Sun's acting funny..._ A warning siren went off in the blonde brawler's head. _Wait a minute!_ Every hint Yang possessed at the moment pointed to the monkey Faunus. He might not be responsible, but he certainly appeared _very_ suspicious.

**Thunk!** Slamming her palms against the wooden table, Yang stood and narrowed her eyes at the boy. "Sun, how come you're still here?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Blondie?!" Scarlet rose out of his seat in defense of his leader, much to Sage's annoyance.

The green-haired teen grabbed his friend's arm. "Scar, calm down."

Swatting his partner's hand away, the redhead remained out of his seat, "Hell no! What kind of question is that, Blondie?"

"Exactly what it sounds like: why is _he_ still here?" Slamming her right fist into her left palm, Yang refused to back down. "What, you can't handle a simple question?"

Blake tugged at Yang's sleeve with a warning glare. " _Yang_! Sit down, you're going to cause a scene."

"Let's not start something over nothing. What is this all about?" Neptune questioned as he raised his hands in a placating gesture. "What brought this on?"

**THUNK!** Without warning, Nora leaped onto the table and pointed an accusatory finger at Sun. "All of our leaders are gone except for _you_! Don't you think that's more than a little suspicious?! _What_ do you have to say for yourself?"

"Nora, _sit down_." The pink-loving teen's partner shook his head in disapproval. "You're scaring our peers again."

"Now hold on just a moment!" The blue-haired teen glared up at the redhead standing on the table. "You can't just **—** "

" _SILENCE_ , YOU WHO FLIRTS TOO MUCH!" Nora boomed and briefly jabbed a spoon in front of the boy's face before she pointed the spoon at Sun. "Answer the question!"

* * *

**Vale, Goodwitch's Tent**

Shifting uncomfortably on her feet, Ruby and her colleagues waited for Professor Goodwitch to face them. The blonde woman currently stood hunched over an old wooden table. Her hand clutched tightly onto her riding crop. Two other adults stood within the tent: a dark-skinned man with pale yellow eyes and the one-armed huntsman from last night, who seemed wearier than before. They stood towards the corners of the tent, simply observing the scene before them but still aware of all their surroundings.

Bringing out her leather notebook and a ballpoint pen, the leader of Team RWBY prepared to take notes. _I better write whatever useful information is said for future reference._ In the corner of her eye, Cardin pulled out his own notebook. _Maybe we can compare notes later..._ Ruby flipped through her notebook to find a new page. Her eyes briefly scanned over her previous entries chock-full of suspects' names, people she's worked with alongside Cardin, and other investigation notes. Once Ruby found an empty page, she adjusted her grip on her notebook. _Hopefully, she'll tell us what was going on last night with the shriek and the explosion._ She jotted down the day's date in the upper right corner of the page. _Maybe now would also be a good time to mention Ozpin's strange behavior during our briefing..._

After what felt like a lifetime, Professor Goodwitch finally turned around. "Can any of you explain to me _exactly_ why you four are here?"

"The headmaster sent us here on a mission with the intent to help Vale." Coco dutifully replied, straightening her posture. "In fact, he sent many team leaders over to the city and the surrounding area. Those of us who landed in the city were to report directly to you while those who landed outside were to seek out Professor Port."

Goodwitch tensed up as she glanced over at the other three. "Did he say anything else to you?"

Cardin nodded as he jotted something down in his notebook. "The headmaster mentioned that we'd be here for a week, at most, before the pick-up shuttles would be sent out."

"...A week," The blonde woman murmured, a frown quickly formed on her features. "That's what _we_ were told before our deployment."

"Something else came up while we were in the headmaster's office..." Ruby piped up, nervously looking at her notebook as she quickly jotted something down. _That's weird... We've seen Professor Goodwitch and the others on campus last week and this week until recently. The way Ozpin worded it made things seem as if the professors left hours before we did._

Everyone's eyes turned on her and Goodwitch urged her on, "Go on."

"While he talked to us, I noticed something strange with his eyes." The girl tapped the edge of her notebook with thumb. "It could've been my imagination but his eyes kept on glinting and shimmering."

Pausing in his writing, Cardin hummed and met his partner's gaze. "I remember seeing that too, but I didn't think it was _that_ important. My thoughts became fuzzy afterward."

"Thank you for informing me of this incident," Goodwitch's frown deepened while she leaned back against the table. "It gives me a better idea of what happened."

"What happened to Vale, Professor?" Jaune's voice wavered rested his hands on his hips.

Piercing emerald eyes, which held an indistinguishable emotion, bore into the four students present. "I'm afraid I don't know."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Dining Hall**

Blissfully unaware of the danger they walked into, the remaining members of Team CFVY casually entered the dining hall. As soon as they opened the double doors, a couple dozen pancakes flew at them. Velvet's instincts kicked in and she dove out of the way. A few of the flying flapjacks flopped against the door behind her before they fell to the ground. Yatsuhashi simply put one of his arms up and blocked the flying food, while Fox somersaulted out of the way with a huff.

Fox furrowed his brow as he crouched behind what he assumed was a table. "Can anybody explain to me what's happening?"

"We've stumbled into a food fight. Likely caused by Teams RWBY and JNPR..." Yatsuhashi responded, grabbing a few strips of bacon out of the air before they could hit him.

Brushing off her uniform, Velvet sighed at her peers' antics. "Professor Goodwitch is going to maim them this time."

"I can't believe this," Her blind teammate grumbled. "Why couldn't they wait until lunch time? I'm hungry..."

Placing the bacon on an untouched plate, Yatsuhashi put it in his friend's hands. "If it's any consolation, here's some bacon."

* * *

**A while ago...**

Neptune glared up at Nora with a challenge in his eyes. "Sun doesn't have to answer any questions he doesn't want to!"

"It makes him more suspicious if he refuses!" The wild child responded without missing a beat. "Move aside."

"NO!" The blue-haired teen rose from his seat and gestured to his teammates. "C'mon guys, let's grab Sun and get out of here."

"THIS MEANS WAR, NOODLE-MAN!" Grasping onto Neptune's head before he could move his legs from under the table, Nora buried his face into a bowl of oatmeal.

Scarlet grabbed someone else's plate and whipped the food at Nora. "You can't do that to my teammates!"

"Here we go again..." Ren sighed as he stood up from the table.

"Pyrrha, Ren, BATTLE STATIONS!" Back-flipping off the table and onto another, Nora scooped up more food into her arms. "If they won't speak, then we'll _make_ them speak!"

The Spartan beauty shook her head but took up arms as well. With a cheer, the blonde brawler of Team RWBY grabbed a nearby watermelon. Yang rose out of her seat to properly join in the chaos and flung the watermelon at Sage. The green-haired teen took the hit but wiped the fruity remains out of his eyes to glare at the blonde. The brawler smirked back at him and then jumped away from the table. Meanwhile, Weiss sat torn between helping Neptune out of his predicament and aiding her friends. The poor boy's head became stuck in the bowl but at the same time, she wanted answers as to why her partner and leader disappeared while SSSN's leader remained at Beacon. Blake strode over to another table, her face unreadable. While the brunette put a hand on the table, the other students ran for the hills.

"IT'S ANOTHER FOOD FIGHT! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!"

Weiss looked to her Faunus teammate and shouted over her panicking peers. "Blake! What do we do?!"

The other teen remained silent as her sausage-link whip spoke for her.

* * *

**Present...**

Velvet watched as Sun slowly made his way out of his seat. His footfalls remained oddly silent as he sauntered towards the exit. The monkey Faunus brushed past Yatsuhashi. He refused meet Velvet's eyes when she greeted him; he went so far as to duck his head and offer a halfhearted wave. Instead of keeping his tail up and about as usual, Sun let the appendage drag along the floor. It seemed as if he no longer considered the tail a part of him. _Is he alright?_ The blond strode out of the dining hall with some hidden purpose; a purpose which would be revealed to the rabbit Faunus curiously peering at him. _Where is he headed?_

"Yatsu, Fox, I'm going to sit this one out. I'll catch up with you two later."

Flinging two baguettes into the fray, Yatsuhashi glanced over at his partner. "Where will you be? Do you wish for our help?"

"I'll be fine, I promise." Velvet smiled up at him and looked over at her blind teammate.

Fox turned his head in her direction while he dodged an incoming bowl of oatmeal. "Use your scroll if you need us Vel. We'll come running."

The Faunus smiled gratefully, even if the other teen couldn't see it. "I will."

* * *

 

**Vale, Goodwitch's Tent**

Furiously jotting down as many notes as she could, Ruby struggled to keep up with the conversation. "Let me repeat what I heard, Professor. There's monsters _and_ creatures of Grimm running free in Vale?"

"Correct," Goodwitch brushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Due to their presence, it is difficult to locate a safe area for all of our wounded. A group as large as this will be challenging to manage."

"Do either of you have anything to add to that statement?" Ruby looked to the two huntsmen standing guard.

The dark-skinned man shrugged as his eyes scanned the premises. "If the citizens weren't part of the equation, then it'd be easier to figure out where the Grimm are entering the city as well as what's causing the strange monsters to appear here. We're stretched too thin as long as we're defending them!"

Professor Goodwitch sent the man a warning glare. Meanwhile, his one-armed comrade looked away from him with a disappointed expression. Ruby pursed her lips in thought as she wrote down more notes. **Scritch-scritch-scritch.** She glanced over to her friends. Coco looked ready to smack the huntsman upside the head. Jaune shifted uncomfortably on the balls of his feet, his eyebrows knitted together. Meanwhile, Cardin snapped his pencil in half and ground his teeth together. _All this information is...more than disturbing. And one of the huntsman here is_ tired _of taking care of people?!_ A queasy feeling fell over the young teen. _I thought...I thought people who entered this profession knew what they signed up for..._ Turning her gaze onto the other huntsman, Ruby gestured for him to speak. Her concerned gaze betrayed her calm expression.

"The duty of huntsmen and huntresses becomes quite demanding when a large-scale crisis arrives," The one-armed huntsman stated seriously as he adjusted his glasses. "The amount of negativity we possess here in the plaza will become a problem if we can't permanently secure the area."

Coco furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms. "We're sitting ducks here..."

"We have to figure out how to draw the monsters away soon." Jaune spoke lowly; his eyes filled with dread. "The huntsmen and huntresses are strong but they have their limits. Plus, they've been on alert for at least a week..."

Nodding along with her classmates' assessments, Ruby turned her attention back on Professor Goodwitch. "Professor, what about the other students sent into Vale? Have you seen any of them?"

A sad look appeared in the woman's eyes. "I can't say that I have. I was trying to rest and recover but when you four arrived, one of my colleagues came and woke me up."

"We heard explosions in the distance before someone woke Miss Goodwitch." The dark-skinned man cleared his throat and Ruby looked at him. "As I mentioned before, our hunters are spread too thin. We couldn't spare anyone to head out and investigate. The beasts roaming the city become feral at night and the camp needs all the protection it can get."

"Damn..." Cardin took a deep breath and wrote something down with a spare pencil. "That doesn't sound good."

Coco adjusted her sunglasses and turned her head away. "No..."

Jaune's stance tensed; he screwed his eyes shut. "Oh God... This...this shouldn't be happening."

Lowering her notes, Ruby placed her head in her hands and took a deep breath. She released a shuddering sigh as a few tears escaped her eyes. _There's too much that's just wrong here in Vale. I should've told my friends and Yang that I loved them... I should've called Dad and Uncle Qrow..._ **Click-clack, click-clack.** She felt some pressure being applied to her shoulder. Blinking away her tears, Ruby looked up to see her professor gazing kindly down at her. A small, grateful smile made it to Ruby's lips and the teen quietly thanked her professor. With a nod, the woman went over to the other distressed students, offering her silent support. Once she finished the task, Professor Goodwitch returned to her place in front of her students. Ruby brought her notes back up.

"Professor, what happened last night? I heard gunfire and then an explosion nearby..." Bracing herself for the news, Ruby tightened her grip on her notebook.

"Some of the monsters got past our guards. They attacked your pilot as well as the bullhead. We tried saving the pilot, but the monster horde overpowered us. Somehow, the horde damaged the bullhead's engine and set it aflame. A few stray shots from the huntsmen and huntresses on patrol made their way into the engine and triggered an explosion." The woman became more exhausted as she went on. "I hoped it wouldn't happen, but no matter how well we defend our camp the monsters find their way in."

The one-armed huntsman spoke up again. "The monsters possess a vendetta against vehicles. Fortunately, for you four, none of the monsters targeted your bullhead while you arrived."

"None of this is making any sense!" Cardin threw his notes aside and slammed his fist against a barrel. "We should go out and kill those bastards before they come back again!"

"Where would we look?!" Coco shouted back at him.

"I..." The bully deflated for a moment as he floundered for a comeback. "I don't know! All I know is that we _have_ to stop these things before they kill everyone here!"

"Guys, please," Jaune pleaded with the other two as he narrowed his eyes. "This isn't the time to fight."

Cardin ignored him and focused on Coco. "If you know so much, then why don't you enlighten the rest of us? Or do you just want to sit on your ass and do nothing?"

"How dare you?!" The fashionista lowered her sunglasses and glared at him. "I _care_ about these people! I'm training to become a huntress for crying out loud! _Of course,_ I don't _want_ to sit on my ass, but we can't run blindly into the city!"

Before either of them could start throwing punches, a brilliant purple glow encased their fists. "Enough!"

Rather than sticking around and seeing the outcome, Ruby put her notes in her backpack and walked away from the conversation. A few more questions needed answering, but her partner wanted to jump right to finding the answers himself. _He's straightforward and makes sure he gets heard, but that's only a nuisance this early on in an investigation._ Ruby sighed and rubbed her temples. She slowly walked over to one of the ruined buildings far to the right of Professor Goodwitch's tent. _I need time to process this and then clear my head.  
_

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Outside the Auditorium**

Peering around a corner, Velvet watched Sun as he walked towards the Main Avenue. _Better not draw attention to myself by sneaking around; besides, Sun isn't the only person walking towards the air docks._ Straightening out her uniform, Velvet suddenly stopped. _Wait, we have classes!_ Her eyes darted towards the building where her first class was and then toward Sun's retreating figure. _Coco wouldn't want any of us to miss our classes, but I must figure out where she went..._ Velvet clenched her fists and relaxed, repeating the gesture as she debated her next course of action. She bit the inside of her cheek. _No..._ The Faunus relaxed her muscles and exhaled sharply. _I should trust her reasons for being gone, whatever they may be._

Velvet reluctantly turned away from Sun and hurried to her first class.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Calmly setting aside his mug, Ozpin gazed at his colleagues. "I can assure you both, everything is alright."

"But, sir, we haven't heard a word from Peter _or_ Glynda in a while." Doctor Oobleck argued, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Their return with the others was scheduled a few days ago. We can't run an academy without its other professors!"

"Doctor," Speaking softly and smoothly, the headmaster closely watched his colleagues, "there is _nothing_ to worry about. You and Professor Peach should return to your duties; the others are _fine_. I received a report a few days ago, detailing how the mission required them for a few more days."

"I can't oversee the laboratory and let students go about on their own for supplies!" Professor Peach fidgeted with the edges of her lab coat. "We're understaffed and there's no way we can keep up with all of the students present. Plus, we have visitors from other academies!"

"Do not fret, I have everything under control." Ozpin assured them, wearing a kind smile, "Trust me. Our colleagues will return before we know it."

Sharing a look with Professor Peach, Doctor Oobleck nodded. "Yes, yes, of course. Forgive our hastiness; we didn't mean to say we didn't trust your judgment, sir. We're simply concerned about how we're to manage the students."

"I prepared something for the students during the absence of your fellow instructors. However, it will take some time until I've finished them." The headmaster's eyes suddenly had a faraway look in them. "We want the best and only the best for the children of course."

The two teachers nodded slowly before gazing curiously at their boss. Oobleck's glasses glinted oddly before he whipped around and darted for the elevator. Professor Peach simply adjusted her googles and then hobbled over to the history teacher waiting in the elevator. Ozpin watched them disinterestedly and pushed his falling spectacles up.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Port's Lecture Hall**

"What's going on?" Velvet wondered aloud after she and many students sat in the room without a teacher for several minutes. "Where's the professor?"

Russel Thrush grumbled and crossed his arms. "Maybe the old man finally bit the dust after so many years of spitting out shit."

"Russel, _behave_ ," Sky Lark chided his light green-haired teammate. "He's probably caught up in a teachers' meeting or something."

"He usually has stuff laid out on the desks before he heads out for a meeting though." Dove Bronzewing observed, tapping a finger against his chin.

_Dove makes a good point; Port's gone and there's nothing waiting for us on our desks._ Absentmindedly rubbing one of her bunny ears, Velvet stared at a wall in thought. _Professor Port was here yesterday though._ _Do we simply not have classes today?_ She thought back to when she checked her phone for any notifications from Beacon's system. _There wasn't an announcement..._ Suddenly, the lights flashed throughout the room. **Bang!** Everyone looked to the classroom entrance to see their stout professor standing proudly in the doorway. He strode purposefully down the steps towards his desk.

"Forgive my tardiness, my dear students!" Professor Port's voice echoed throughout the room. "Now, on to our next lesson..."

* * *

**One long-winded lecture about past exploits later...**

Velvet walked to her professor as he left the lecture hall while her classmates filtered out into the hallway behind her. _Something's off with him...even though he's always been this eccentric._ She fondly recalled the times he worked alongside Team CFVY on their tougher missions. _However, this time he's...odder than usual._ The rabbit Faunus scrunched her nose at the thought. _I hope he'll tell me if I ask._ Eyeing the stout man, Velvet cleared her throat and approached him.

Professor Port glanced at her and then happily clapped his hand against one of her shoulders, "Ah! If it isn't one of my favorite students: Miss Scarlatina! How are things with your team?"

"Coco's disappeared along with some of our friends, but other than that we're fine; thanks for asking." The girl attempted to smile, only for it to come across as a grimace.

"Oh?" The professor raised an eyebrow briefly before he shook his head. "Well, I'm absolutely positive she has her reasons for doing what she did. No need to worry, Miss Scarlatina! She'll be back before you know it! Now, how can I help you?"

Velvet shut her eyes for a moment before looking directly at the man. "Actually, I'd like to help _you_. I hope I'm not overstepping any boundaries, Professor, but I couldn't help but notice you acted a bit strangely during the lesson today. Is there anything wrong?"

A strange expression formed on the stout man's features as he opened his eyes to meet Velvet's gaze. "I understand that you would notice and be concerned, given my history with you and your team. However, I can assure you that nothing is out of the ordinary here!"

"Yes, but **—** "

The man's eyes seemed to dull and a faraway look appeared in them, which reminded Velvet of Sun. _Things aren't alright here in Beacon. Weiss was right; we need to figure out what's going on here soon._ Letting Professor Port brush past her, Velvet pulled out her scroll. She spared one more glance at the professor right before the lights flashed once again. In the blink of an eye, the professor suddenly disappeared into the crowd of students without a trace. _I need to tell the others about this!_ Frowning, the rabbit Faunus typed away on her scroll; she remained oblivious to the eyes observing her.

* * *

 

**Vale, Plaza Resting Tent 12; Afternoon**

Leaning against the wall of a ruined building, Ruby finally got a good look at the people resting in the camp. Humans and Faunus alike were lying in the same areas, any thought of segregation far from peoples' minds considering the situation. _At least some form of good came from this crisis..._ Ruby rubbed the back of her neck and sighed; now wasn't the time to focus on that. Her ears picked up the sound of crying. The teen looked to her right; her heart fell into her stomach at the sight. Children quietly wept, burying their faces into their hands or the pillows provided for them; others were as silent as the grave, staring into the distance and as still as statues. Some adults watched over them, the same haunted look in their eyes. Almost everyone's clothes were bloodstained and tattered; men, women, the young, and the elderly desperately needed medical attention. _Maybe we can salvage things from the hospitals when we head out to investigate._

"Hey! Hey, kid!" A voice off to her left pulled her out of her observations.

She looked to see a legless man with dark brown hair and sea green eyes. "Y-yes?" _Holy crumble cakes..._

"Are ya alright? You've been starin' at that there tent fer a while now." The man's voice held a pleasant tone. "Someone ya know in there?"

_Is he trying to cheer me up?_ "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'd be more worried about myself if I were you, sir."

The legless man made a face. "Nah, kid. I don't wanna hear any of that 'sir' or 'mister' stuff or whatever the hell you kids say. Ma name's Noctis."

"Nice to meet you, Noctis. I'm Ruby." The silver-eyed girl smiled politely at the prone man. "Can I ask you about what happened?"

Noctis chuckled darkly, "Ain't it obvious? One of those bastards got me."

"..." A look of regret appeared on the teen's face.

"Aw, don't be like that, Ruby." The man feebly reached an arm out to her and nudged her arm. "It ain't a big deal."

"How can you say that?! Your legs are gone!"

Noctis simply smiled up at her, "I did ma job as a huntsman, kid. That's what matters more; sure, I lost ma legs but other people got ta keep their lives. Though I wish my friend hadn't...done what he did ta help me. He's smart an' kind an' all that stuff leaders are s'pposed to be, y'know? But sometimes... Sometimes his actions are dumber than a sack of taters."

Any other retort Ruby was about to come up with died in her throat. She stared at the man quietly. _He still cares about the citizens... Unlike that other huntsman._ Noctis's sea green eyes briefly met her silver ones. Another toothy grin spread across the man's face before he looked elsewhere. The softness in his eyes reminded Ruby of when Yang would look at her before she pulled her into a bear hug. Kneeling on the ground next to Noctis's cot, Ruby folded her hands on top of her knee. _I need answers more than anything else._

"What happened, Noctis? What are those monsters capable of?"

The huntsman turned his head away from her and covered his eyes with his arms. "These things are...they're different. Creatures of Grimm are tough, right? But at least we know what makes 'em tick and how ta keep 'em away. After what happened... I realized that these _beasts_ **—** "

"Excuse me!" Noctis uncovered his eyes; he and Ruby looked up to see a man with dark blue hair walking towards him. "I'm sorry, miss, but Noctis needs as much rest as he can get."

A frown made its way onto Noctis's face. "Here we go..."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Courtyard**

Doctor Oobleck paced behind a stone bench with a thoughtful expression. "Jamie, what do you think? Were we too hasty in our assessment?"

"I'm at a loss, same as you, Bart." Professor Peach replied from her seat, leaning back on the bench. "I feel that if we pressed the issue, then Ozpin would've resorted to...something drastic."

The green-haired doctor paused. He stared at the back of his colleague's head. _She can't be serious. It's a ludicrous thought; Ozpin would never **—** then again, I don't know. _Oobleck rubbed his temples once before he went back to pacing.  _Sometimes I never know..._ He sighed and made his way on to the other side of the bench to see Peach's face.

"Nonsense, Jamie," The history teacher waved his hand dismissively. "He knows better."

Shrugging, the woman exhaled tiredly. "He's been acting strangely though. More so than usual, at least. I mean, sending out _almost_ _all_ of Beacon's professors? What good does that do for anyone? What sort of trouble is Vale in?"

Oobleck paused and looked down at his colleague. "There _is_ that. Under normal circumstances, the council or private contractors hire full-time huntsmen and huntresses before turning to the academies..."

"I doubt these are normal circumstances."

"True, too true..." Oobleck stood up straight and cleared his throat.

"Bartholomew! Jamie!" A stern voice called out.

The two professors shared a look before they snapped to attention. Peach struggled onto her feet, while Oobleck simply adjusted his glasses. **Click-clack, click-clack.** Their eyes moved towards the sound's origin to see a familiar blonde woman making her way towards them. Oobleck felt his stomach turn; as if it tried to warn him of something. Beside the history teacher, Peach straightened out her coat as best as she could. He refocused his attention to the approaching woman. The blonde's expression remained neutral, but how she held her shoulders indicated annoyance. **Click-clack, click-clack.** Once she reached them, the blonde professor gazed at them expectantly.

"What on Remnant are you two doing out here? We have classes to teach!" Goodwitch's firm tone broke the duo's surprised silence.

Curiously examining his colleague, Oobleck nervously coughed into his hand. "Ah, Glynda! How long have you been back?"

She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about, Bartholomew. Now is _not_ the time for jokes! We have students to attend to."

"Weren't you and most of the others sent on a mission in Vale? Peter wouldn't stop jabbering about it to Arzant..." Peach spoke up, slightly recoiling under Goodwitch's intense stare. "If you don't mind me asking, that is..."

As Glynda spoke, a high-pitched sound played in the air. "There wasn't a mission in Vale, Jamie. I'm afraid you are mistaken."

"But **—** " The doctor stopped and groaned as the high-pitched noise increased in intensity; his head felt like it was going to explode.

A bright, blinding light flashed over the courtyard before anyone said another word. Moments later, Oobleck blinked rapidly and shook his head. He groaned again and held his head in his hands. Professor Peach mumbled something incoherent beside him. She staggered to the side for a moment before she straightened her posture. Attempting to refocus his thoughts, the history teacher felt his stomach lurch. He ignored the feeling and cleared his mind. Once he regained some of his composure, Oobleck moved his hands away from his face and adjusted his glasses.

**Click-click-click.** Tapping her foot against the stone walkway, Goodwitch gazed at the two professors. "But?"

Rubbing his forehead, Oobleck mumbled, "What on Remnant happened?"

Professor Peach pinched the bridge of her nose. "Ah, my head..."

"Do you remember what you were about to say?" Goodwitch watched Oobleck closely as she uncrossed her arms.

Blinking once, the green-haired man shook his head. "It... never mind. We should head to our classrooms."

* * *

**Beacon Academy, Air Docks**

Seated on the edge of Dock Three, Sun blankly stared at the distant city of Vale. His mind absently registered the sound of an airship landing on a nearby dock. The monkey Faunus dangled his legs over the edge and looked at the waters far below. He wanted to form a solid thought about the water but found something pushing the words out. It seemed as if his mind acted against him. No, no, it's trying to focus on matters at hand. Or was it? Closing his eyes, Sun rubbed his temples and groaned in frustration. Why does his head hurt?

"What are you doing?" A strong hand was rested on the teen's shoulder.

Instead of jolting in surprise, Sun looked up to see General Ironwood but his gaze quickly went past the man and into the sky. "Nothing much, sir."

Furrowing his brow, the general seemed to dislike the look in Sun's eye. "Are you sure? Look me in the eyes and tell me."

"Of course, I'm sure." The teen replied, refusing to meet his eyes.

"Look at me, young man," Kneeling beside him, Ironwood's body glowed as he gently grabbed Sun's chin and forced the boy to look at him. "Are you _sure_?"

Their eyes met and a brief flash of light appeared in front of the blond's eyes. An ugly, almost ear-splitting noise resounded loudly in his ears. Sun jolted and felt as if something lifted from his mind. Ironwood's aura retreated and the man withdrew his hand as Sun grasped his forehead. _My head hurts..._ He groaned as if he recently woke up and stood up from his spot. The Faunus felt himself being pulled away from the edge and spun around to face the man he talked to. After a few moments, Sun looked up at the general and frowned. Looking over the boy once again, Ironwood kept his face neutral.

"My head feels funny..." The teen complained. _What the heck just happened? How did I get to the air docks?_

Briefly nodding, Ironwood motioned some people over. "My medical team will look you over for now. Walk with them into our airship."

Sun looked at him questioningly but left with the team nonetheless. "Thanks."

* * *

 

Watching the teen leave, Ironwood frowned. _This isn't the first time I've seen that._ He turned his gaze onto Beacon's Clock Tower. Ironwood crossed his arms behind his back and began walking down Main Avenue. _Hopefully, the headmaster will have an explanation._ Before he walked too far from the docks, the general stopped in his tracks and narrowed his eyes. _It's best to approach this with caution. I cannot afford to make any mistakes._ Turning on his heel, the man strode back over to his airship and then entered it.

He briskly walked over to a door that read "RESTRICTED AREA" in bright red letters. Punching in the four-digit code, a scanner popped out from overhead and scanned the man's eyes. Another device appeared with a pin prick and a small, glass container. Ironwood removed his left glove and pressed his index finger against the pin prick. Once a few drops of blood fell into the container, the device disappeared into the wall. A screen suddenly replaced the code panel and Ironwood's picture briefly appeared on it. **Whiiirr... Whiiirr...** Slowly, the door pulled up and a heavy, chemical scent wafted from the room within. Ironwood stepped into the room without any hesitation; his mind made up and his destination set. He didn't expect to see that look in the eyes of a student when he decided to visit Beacon once more. It piqued his interest as well as worried him.

The cyborg came to a stop in front of a large, metal container and nodded at the person standing beside it. "Time to see what this can do."

"Are you sure, sir?" A masked scientist wondered as she stepped away from her project. "You should consider having Miss Polendina accompany you instead. We have yet to get rid of the kinks and **—** "

"At ease, Lieutenant. Dr. Geppetto Polendina had a hand in _this_ creation." General Ironwood gestured to the container. "I'm positive it will be enough for this task."

* * *

  **Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Ozpin looked down at the air docks with an amused smile. A twinkle appeared in his dark brown eyes. He sipped from his coffee mug and adjusted his grip on his cane. Ozpin rolled his shoulders back and shut his eyes in thought. Stepping away from his window, the green-clad man twirled his cane around and rested the tip against his shoulder. He forced a neutral expression back on to his face. Then, he reopened his eyes. Bringing his cane from his shoulder, the headmaster used it to support him on his way to the elevator. The green-clad took a deep breath and pushed the down button.

"Things are about to get even more interesting," Ozpin mused to himself as the elevator doors slid shut. _Pity James isn't too fond of games... Perhaps he'll change his mind before it starts._

* * *

 

  **Thank you for reading!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately, there are more and more questions... But more characters enter the fray!
> 
> Names:  
> Jamie - "Supplanter" (While not a color name, this was based on the idea that Professor Peach is inspired by James and the Giant Peach)  
> Noctis - "Of the night" in Latin  
> Arzant - "Silver" in Lombard


	3. Prepare the Players

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Beacon, few more people go missing along with people's memories. Meanwhile, Ruby and the others prepare themselves to explore the city...

**Disclaimer: RWBY and its characters belong to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.**

**Warnings: Language**

* * *

 

**Prepare the Players**

**Friday Afternoon: Vale, Plaza Resting Tent 12**

"She's just askin' me some questions, Grumpy." Noctis propped himself up on his elbows to look at the approaching man. "There ain't nothin' wrong with that, right?"

The other man ran a hand through his dark blue hair and sent a look in Ruby's direction. "I'd rather you focus your energy on your damned wounds than answer questions! Your aura needs to be _focused_ on the wounds instead of letting them close on their own; passive aura healing isn't _always_ effective. And quit calling me 'Grumpy!'"

Ruby raised an eyebrow at 'Grumpy' and spoke. "I didn't mean to disturb Noctis, sir. I'm trying to gather information. My friends and I need to understand what's wrong in Vale to help out."

"That's reasonable, but you're better off asking someone else." Rubbing a hand across his face, 'Grumpy' regarded Ruby with a skeptical glance and gestured to her compact weapon. "Aren't you a bit young to go around carrying a weapon like that?"

"I'm a student at Beacon Academy!" The red-clad leader huffed.

Frowning, 'Grumpy' raised an eyebrow at her. "So, Beacon stoops so low as to enroll _young_ girls to fight monsters? Doesn't represent Vale well through the academy's actions."

"Hey!' Ruby clenched her hands into fists and stood up. "I _earned_ my way into Beacon with my skills."

"As you say, child." The blue-haired grump remained where he was, glaring down at her.

"I trained under my Uncle Qrow and learned how to fight with a scythe!" The teen argued. _This guy is getting on my nerves; I don't care if he's a huntsman or not._

"Big words," 'Grumpy' sneered and gestured at Ruby with one hand, "from such a small child."

Ruby ground her teeth together and threw down her backpack. The grump simply tilted his head and stared at her. _I'll show this... This...poophead!_ Mentally grinning at her insult, the red-cloaked teen grabbed Crescent Rose and stepped away from Noctis. With a whirl, she unfolded her scythe and aimed its sniper barrel directly at the grump—er—" _poophead_." **CLANG!** The man's eye twitched as he stepped back from the weapon.

"Just because you own a giant _scythe—_ one of the _most dangerous_ weapons known to man—does _not_ mean you can swing it around in a tantrum." He folded his arms and shook his head. "You only prove me right through your actions."

Heat erupted in the girl's cheeks as she glanced around the campsite. Other huntsmen and huntresses eyed her suspiciously. Faint, worried murmurs from nearby tents reached her ears. People hastily whispered to each other: "A child with a weapon?" and "Is she going to hurt us?" _This...this isn't making a good impression._ Ruby looked down and quickly put away her weapon. A bright red hue colored her usually pale cheeks. She rubbed her toe into the dirt and held her arms behind her back.

'Grumpy' scoffed before his tone softened. "I realize that I'm making a poor impression of myself..."

"We both have," The silver-eyed teen dared to meet the man's gaze. "I..." _I didn't want to scare everyone else..._

"While I understand wanting to find answers and prove your worth... Please, leave Noctis alone for now; he's got enough problems as it is. If you'll excuse me, I have other people to check up on." Slightly bowing his head, the grump turned and walked away.

As the man left, Ruby turned and glanced at the citizens and the huntsmen and huntresses. Many huntsmen and huntresses continued to stare at her for a few moments longer, while others deemed her harmless enough to turn away again. Ruby sent a meek smile at those who continued to stare. Once they finally turned away, the red-cloaked girl sighed in relief and willed for her blush to go away.  _This was_ so _embarrassing!_ She patted away the dirt gathered on her skirt and looked down at her legless companion. A kind smile rested on the wounded man's features. Ruby returned the smile and cautiously sent a glance in the direction 'Grumpy' left before slightly stooping down to continue speaking with Noctis.

"Don't mind Bergmann, kid. He means well but he comes across as real ornery. I reckon it's 'cause most of the folks from Atlas are awfully uppity."

"It's fine, Noctis, I get it. I think I'll go ask some others about the monsters instead." The girl began to straighten up, but Noctis grabbed her arm, "What?"

Wincing, the wounded huntsman sat up as best as he could and looked at the teen seriously. "Ya oughta get up with the huntsmen and huntresses who are guardin' the area. They've gone to the city more than our injured. The ones who got injured used keep an eye on things 'round 'ere, while the others went explorin'. You'll get the info ya want outta them."

"Excuse me?" Ruby tilted her head to the side.

Noctis rolled his eyes, "Ya know, use yer yapper. Sweet talk. Now go on and skedaddle 'fore Grumpy comes back!"

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Hallway**

Slowly approaching his target, Sky Lark subconsciously fidgeted with the cuffs of his uniform jacket. _This will be a breeze; all I need to do is ask her if she knows what's going on._ He stepped towards the bunny girl with purpose. Her eyes distractedly scanned the hallway as she held her scroll up to the side of her face. A moment passed where she met Sky's eyes. The other teen paused and waited for her to do something. She lowered her phone and narrowed her eyes at him. One of her bunny ears twitched in annoyance. Sky put on a brave face and continued forward. _This will be a breeze._

Before he reached her, the bunny girl's eyes suddenly widened and her hands flew to her head. _What the hell?_ Sky slowed his pace and examined the other teen from far away. _I_ _s she alright?_ A queasy feeling in the bottom of his gut spurred him forward after a moment's hesitation. His walk became a slight jog as he approached her. The bunny girl clasped her hands tightly on to the sides of her head. _Gotta get her attention first; what's her name?_ She opened her mouth in a silent, agonized scream. Then, the girl doubled over with pain evident on her face. _Shit! Shit, what's her name?! V-something? Last name, last name, what was it? Scar? Scarlet? No, that's one of the exchange students. Damn it, brain, forget this!_ Sky rushed over and grasped onto the Faunus' elbows. A high-pitched noise entered his ears. The noise's intensity increased at a rapid pace and forced the boy to cover his ears too. Suddenly, the Faunus' eyes met his and everything came to an abrupt stop. A blinding, white light slowly enveloped the two until almost nothing was left.

Dull, lifeless eyes stared into a pair of scared blue ones before everything blacked out.

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship, Infirmary**

_Why the hell am I at the air docks?_ Sun wondered idly as a bunch of Atlesian military personnel passed him by. The young man closed his eyes in thought. _Last thing I remember was...leaving the Leadership Arts meeting?_  Sun flicked his tail back and forth, curling it close to his back as his thoughts fought against him. He bunched the bed sheets under him into his hands and fiddled with the fabric as he thought. _Weird...coulda sworn something else happened... No, that_ is _what happened! ...Isn't it?_ He groaned and rubbed his forehead. **Clink-clink, clink-clink.** The Faunus turned to see the figure approaching his temporary bed. A person wearing brilliant white armor with teal accents and a black, full-faced visor looked down at him. The blond bit the inside of his cheek before he could make a thoughtless comment about his visitor.

A feminine, mechanical voice surprised him. "Hello. I am your designated Health Evaluation and Recovery Assistant, designation HERA. How are you feeling?"

"Uh...fine, I guess?" _Why does Atlas love having robots around? These things kinda weird me out when they're talking to me..._

"I am detecting uncertainty in your tone. Is something bothering you?" HERA's arm whirred loudly as she wrote something on her clipboard.

Sun sighed heavily as his shoulders drooped, "I'm a little confused. See, I tried to remember what I was doing before I ended up here but... My memories are being kinda weird."

"..." HERA's visor briefly lit up as she turned her head to the side. "Reports indicate you were seen sitting at the edge of the docks when General Ironwood found you."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I was doing something else before that. I mean, people don't just teleport to places; not without a semblance."

HERA's mechanical voice hummed as she wrote more notes down. "Many reports filed by our personnel state that individuals in the past have possessed a teleportation semblance. Is it not your semblance, sir?"

"Nah," The blond shook his head vigorously as he prodded his memories. "My semblance isn't like that _at all_."

"Hm... My sensors indicate that a series of questions may help jog your memory." With a quiet whir, the android stepped aside and nodded slowly.

An uncomfortable expression appeared on the boy's features. _A robot is gonna ask me stuff to jog my memory?_ He glanced around the infirmary as other Atlesian personnel made their rounds and wrote on their clipboards. _Well, if it'll answer any of my questions..._ Sun's shoulders drooped again as he held his hands together. _Let's get this over with._ Dark grey eyes narrowed at the android waiting patiently at his bedside. The monkey Faunus relaxed his tail, resting it against the bed he sat cross-legged on.

"How would you like to proceed, sir?" HERA stiffly leaned forward and tapped her clipboard.

 _Is she an older model or something?_ Sun shrugged his shoulders and threw his hands behind his head. "I dunno, HERA. Just ask away."

HERA tilted her head for a moment before rigidly nodding her head. "Very well, sir. Let's start at the beginning, shall we? Do you recall your name?"

"Sun Wukong," The blond answered without hesitation. _This isn't so bad, I guess._

"Your age?"

"Seventeen."

"Do you recall your kingdom of origin?"

Pursing his lips, the boy stared at the robot. "Where I was born in or where I am enrolled as a student?"

The robot rigidly shrugged her shoulders, "Either one will do, sir. Or you can say both, if you wish."

"I was born in Vacuo, but I immigrated to Mistral to attend Haven Academy."

"Your long-term memory seems to be intact." A light blue light blinked on to HERA's visor as she jotted another note down. "Before we move on: what team were you placed on? Please state the initials and the pronunciation."

Sun rubbed his eye with the palm of his hand. "Team S-S-S-N, pronounced 'sun.'"

HERA turned her visor towards the young man as he groaned. "Hm... Do you recall the other members of your team?"

"I..." The Faunus groaned as a prickly feeling invaded his head. "I'd be a...bad leader if I didn't. Sage Ayana, Scarlet David, and Neptune Vasilias are my teammates."

"Are you certain you are the team leader?" Leaning a bit closer, HERA's blank visor stared into the boy's soul.

"Uh... Yeah! I mean...I believe I am?" The blond held his head in his hands. "This is starting to hurt my head."

Shaking her head, the android stood upright and gestured to her clipboard. "My records state that: yes, you are the leader of Team SSSN. Forgive me, sir, but it is imperative we check every part of your memory."

_I take it back. I don't find this test so easy anymore..._

* * *

 

**? ? ?**

"AAAHHH!" Screaming as he sat up, Sky Lark dazedly flailed his arms as if something tried to hold him down.

Frightened blue eyes met a stark white room. He whipped his head around, desperately searching for any doors. _Where am I? What the hell happened?_ Quickly, the teen stood up and spun wildly as his gaze darted from corner to corner. Upon seeing no exits, Sky took a deep breath and clenched his hands tightly at his sides. _How did I end up here?_ He gulped, forcing himself to calm down. The teen smoothed out the wrinkles in his uniform before relaxing his shoulders. With a somewhat calm mind, Sky took another look around the room. Stark white walls stared back into his curious, frightened gaze.

"I gotta remember what I was doing before I got here..." Sky breathed in steadily and exhaled, continuing the process as he tried to remember what happened.

 _I was... I was...walking to my dorm?_ A blurry image of Team CRDL's messy dorm room appeared in his mind's eye, but quickly dissolved into nothing. _No, that doesn't sound right. Was I looking for somebody?_ Another image came to mind: a figure of another student at Beacon. The figure turned towards him before it grabbed its head and fell over. He opened his eyes in a startled jolt. The halberd wielder gazed at the wall ahead of him to find a small window. _That window wasn't there a few seconds ago._ Sky shifted his eyes nervously around the room before he approached the window. _What's on the other side?_

Upon reaching the window, Sky rested a hand against the glass and looked through. The window showed him another room. Dark grey, blood-stained walls greeted him. Turning his eyes downward, Sky saw that the room had more depth than his. If he charged to the window and broke it, then Sky would take a very bad fall. _There goes that idea..._ A familiar head of brown hair with bunny ears caught his eye. _Is that...the girl my team and I used to bully?_  The image of a timid Faunus girl **—** a year or two older than him **—** came to mind. _What's her name again? Wait, weren't we walking together? No, no, I was looking for her._ Another blurry image appeared in his mind. Sky mentally imagined himself purposefully walking towards the rabbit Faunus. As soon as he reached her, the image dissolved into nothing as a sharp pain appeared in his head. _Why was I doing that? Why is it so hard to remember?_

Sky groaned as he raised his hands to his head. "Argh... Why?! Why can't I remember?"

As if in response to his question, a bright light flashed before his eyes and forced him away from the window. When Sky reopened his eyes, he discovered that he now stood on a small, circular platform. Large, spotlights surrounded him as they spun along with the seemingly endless ceiling. _Wh-what's going on?!_ The blue-eyed teen gripped his head tighter and hissed in pain. _It... It hurts to think!_ He shook his head violently, attempting to stand tall without clutching his head.

Without warning, the spotlights above him turned on and blinded him.

* * *

 

**Vale, Goodwitch's Tent**

**THUNK!** Slamming his fist on a crate, Cardin grumbled to himself with a huff. _Why is all this shit happening?!_ An image of a horde of Grimm attacking the encampment came to his mind, causing his blood to boil. _What the hell is going on in Vale?_ Cardin placed his other hand on the crate and leaned against it. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes. _This isn't some shitty, simulated investigation anymore. If it were, Coco and Jaune wouldn't be here..._ Opening his indigo eyes, the bully looked over the plaza. He forced a somewhat calm expression on to his features.

In of the corner of his eye, he saw the guards leave their posts. The two men respectfully said their goodbyes to the blonde professor in charge and then walked away. _Even professionals need their rest, I guess._ A minute had barely passed when two other adults replaced those who left. A tiger Faunus, judging by the striped tail, skulked past him. The white-haired Faunus perched himself on a crate in the corner as he lazily crossed his arms. _Great, a Faunus is here._ Cardin narrowed his eyes to focus more on him, noticing how the Faunus's eyes remained sharp despite his overall posture.  _But he's prepared to fight anything that threatens Professor Goodwitch._ Deciding to shift his focus, the teen glanced at the other guard. A woman with red and green streaks in her white hair sauntered in after the Faunus. A mace rested on her belt, almost as menacing as the spiked plates of her armor. _Lady's hair reminds me of peppermint._ Shoving himself away from the crate, Cardin took another deep breath and faced Professor Goodwitch.

Off to the side, the bully saw Jaune seated on the floor. The other teen held his head in his hands. _If things were normal, I'd needle him and smack him around._ Jaune's shoulders began to tremble as he murmured something to himself. Cardin pursed his lips and averted his gaze from the blond teen. _If things were normal, I wouldn't care. At freaking all._ Heaving a sigh, the large teen crossed his arms and trudged over to his peer. Uncaring of the warning glance from Goodwitch and the feeling of Coco's glare at his back, Cardin set a hand on the blond boy's shoulder. _But things are going to hell real fast. We're fighting on the same side; we're not friends, but we gotta work together and rely on each other._ Cardin patted Jaune on the shoulder.

Jaune looked up at the taller teen; despite the tear tracks on his cheeks, the blond wore a guarded expression. "Wh-what is it, Cardin? Here to _mock_ me?"

"Chin up, Arc. Ruby would hate to see you like this when she comes back." Cardin avoided the other boy's eyes, struggling to find appropriate words of comfort. "Save the tears for when there's something to cry about."

"Our classmates are _somewhere_ out _there_!" The knight spat angrily as he gestured towards the city. "We haven't heard a word from them and whatever is out there probably _killed_ them!"

Shrugging his shoulders, Cardin focused on the smoke-filled horizon. "We don't know that for sure."

Hurrying onto his feet, Jaune angrily shoved the bully, who willingly took a step back; Cardin wondered briefly if it surprised the others that he did. "You _heard_ what they said! There are freaking monsters out there that **—** "

"Monsters that go feral at night and hate cars. Not to mention there's Grimm out there." Cardin deadpanned, finally meeting the other boy's eyes.

Sapphire eyes filled to the brim with emotion stared into Cardin's seemingly indifferent indigo eyes. "Exactly! They _never_ stood a chance..."

"..." Looking away, the tall teen exhaled sharply and rubbed the back of his neck. _Ugh, what point was I even trying to make here? Damn it, I care I just... Damn.  
_

"I can't leave you guys alone for a few minutes, can I?" Ruby questioned as she approached the tent, a somber expression on her features despite her light tone.

* * *

 

Frowning at the two, Ruby crossed her arms over her chest with a sigh.  _I can't believe I overheard that. Cardin's_ trying _to be a decent person._ She rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, waiting for anyone to respond to her question. Standing outside the tent canopy, Coco silently observed them but her stance told Ruby that she was ready to intervene at any time. Next to the planning table, Goodwitch quietly turned away from the scene and held a hand to her forehead. _Well,_ _at least Cardin_ tried _to be a decent person to the others. We'll work more on that in the future._

"In any case," Keeping her tone as light as possible, the red-cloaked leader looked down at her notebook, "both of you made good points. We should be worried for our classmates, but not too worried. They're huntsmen-and-huntresses-in-training too, ranging from first years to fourth years. While I am concerned for them, I don't doubt that they can handle themselves, even now."

Jaune furrowed his brow as he considered Ruby's words. He bit his bottom lip in thought and glanced around at the others. The blond then sat back down and avoided everyone's eyes. Meanwhile, Cardin gazed at Ruby with a hint of appreciation. He sent her a brief smile before he tiredly rubbed his eyes. In the background, she saw Coco thinking as well. The fashionista tilted her head from side-to-side; her expression well-hidden. Ruby knew she didn't have a chance to _speak_ to Coco now, but her observation skilled helped her greatly. The young teen casually flipped through her notes and turned her full attention on to all of her classmates again.

"You know, Cardin, I didn't peg you as an optimist." _Maybe Ozpin was right about pairing us up for Leadership Arts._

The bully shrugged, "Like I said before, you've had a positive impact on me."

"Good to know," Humming, the girl focused on Goodwitch. "Professor, do you feel well enough to answer more questions?"

"I... I suppose I can handle another round of questions." The blonde pointedly glared at Coco and Cardin. "So long as Mr. Winchester and Miss Adel can restrain themselves."

Cardin's expression soured as he looked at Coco, "Whatever. I didn't want to waste my time anyway."

"Fine," The fashionista scoffed at the boy and crossed her arms with a huff. "I'll kick his ass later."

Professor Goodwitch released an exasperated sigh and looked to Ruby. "What else do you need to know, Miss Rose?"

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Courtyard**

"Have either of you noticed anything strange today?" Weiss questioned her teammates as they sat at a stone picnic table.

Yang laid her head against the table's cold surface and mumbled. "Other than the fact my sister's gone missing? No."

 _We won't find her at this rate; especially if you hold onto that attitude of yours._ Rolling her eyes, the heiress huffed and turned to her Faunus friend. "What about you, Blake?"

"I overheard some students talking about how their team leaders went missing as well, but every time they started thinking of reasons why, they suddenly stopped." The cat Faunus drummed her fingers on the table.

At this, Yang perked up and looked at her partner inquisitively. "Any idea why they stopped?"

Blake pressed her lips into a thin line, "Afraid not. Has anyone heard from Velvet?"

"Not yet," Weiss responded, a curious glint in her otherwise calculating gaze. "Yatsuhashi said she went looking for Sun during our food fight." _I wonder if she found anything interesting._

"Hm..."

"You know, I never caught that." Rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, the blonde brawler of their group looked at the table. "I was too busy trying to ignore Goodwitch. What's our punishment again?"

"Only _you_ would ignore her." The heiress grumbled back, only to be playfully swatted on the head by Yang, "Hey!"

Frowning, the cat Faunus shifted her gaze between her teammates. "Now that you mention her, Professor Goodwitch acted strange as well."

Weiss' eyes immediately focused on Blake once again. _I assumed the professor had something more important on her mind, but perhaps Blake is on to something._ The heiress folded her hands on the table as she delved into her thoughts. Mist blue eyes trailed down to her hands. _Then there's Velvet...we haven't heard from her at all besides what her teammates told us._ A sour expression flashed across Weiss's features as her mind took a negative turn. _Did she disappear like our leaders?_ She shook her mind away from the thought. _Hopefully, it has nothing to do with why Ruby is gone._ Weiss raised her eyes to meet the others' gazes.

"I figured something more important was on her mind." _Perhaps it's something worth examining..._

"She _did_ seem more on edge than usual. You think that has something to do with our missing leaders?" Yang questioned, evidently eager for any leads.

Blake made a noncommittal sound. "I have feeling that it does, but we can't prove anything yet."

 _We'll need more people on board; people we can trust._ "There's bound to be a lot of ground we can't cover ourselves. We'd better ask Teams JNPR and CFVY to help us out."

The blonde and the brunette shared a brief look with each other before nodding in agreement. In the air, the trio felt the weight of an unspoken question that hung over them. _As for Team SSSN..._ Weiss sadly glanced to the side. _Due to Sun's behavior, I fear we can't trust them for now. As much as I wish they could help, I won't let them stop me from helping my friends and the everyone else who went missing._ Weiss stood up from the table and left without another word. Behind her, the black and yellow duo of RWBY spoke in hushed whispers. The heiress's shoulders tensed slightly as she made her way back inside. Surely, the uneasy feeling within her would go away once Ruby and the others returned.

_We'll find out what's going on and see our friends again._

* * *

 

**Beacon, Oobleck's Lecture Hall**

Rubbing at his eyes, the coffee-loving doctor zipped around the empty desks. One thought buzzed at the forefront of his mind: The students' work space must be clear and ready for them before they arrived. Anything else which came to mind was white noise, completely useless. He snapped back towards his desk, which appeared neater than it had ever been since he started working at Beacon. Everything must have a place and a purpose; he had no time for useless clutter. Oobleck, much like his superior, wanted the best for his pupils and only the best would do. Running a hand through his swept-back hair, the doctor frowned. A bit of grooming might be necessary in the future.

As he looked around his lecture hall, an odd sensation tugged at the edge of Oobleck's mind. Narrowing his eyes, the history teacher crossed his arms with a thoughtful hum. _Some...something...isn't right..._ The thought appeared in his head like a distant lightning bolt. He visualized it for a mere microsecond, and then it disappeared without another trace. Oobleck forced out the thought and any concern that came with it from his mind. The man rubbed his temples and took a sip from his thermos. Before his thoughts stray from his task of organization again, the doors to the lecture hall opened.

The green-haired man zipped to the center of the floor. "Welcome, students! Please, take your seats as I begin today's lesson..."

* * *

 

**? ? ?**

A sharp and tingly sensation washed over Velvet as she sat up. _W-where am I?_ She examined her surroundings with squinted eyes to see a dim, bare room. _Why do my eyes hurt?_ The prickly sensation all over her body intensified while she attempted to get up on her feet, as if battleaxes slammed down on her. Velvet yelped out in pain and clutched her side, which soothed her a bit. _What happened to me?_ She groaned in effort to pull herself up to her feet once again; Velvet tried to ignore the pain that rocketed through her. As soon as Velvet stood up, a high-pitched noise entered her ears. She clutched the side of her head to cover one set of her ears. The noise increased in intensity as Velvet struggled to keep her ears safe. With a cry of pain, the rabbit Faunus fell to her knees.

Bright lights clicked on and blinded her soon after.

* * *

 

**Vale, Goodwitch's Tent**

"Professor, can you tell us where Professor Port is? Or at least where _any_ of the other professors are?" Coco dared to ask after Ruby finished her line of questions; the fashionista took a seat on an unoccupied cot.

Goodwitch tiredly massaged her temples but obliged her student's question. "He and a few others left the camp a few nights ago to secure the perimeter as well as some more supplies for the injured."

"And look how well _that_ went." Cardin scoffed moodily, earning himself a glare from the leader of Team CFVY.

"Please keep your comments to yourself, Mr. Winchester." Shaking her head, the blonde professor continued. "Most of my colleagues remained to help guard the camp but recent attacks have begun to dwindle our numbers."

 **Scritch-scritch-scritch.** The sound of Ruby's pen scraping against her notebook paper became louder than usual before the girl spoke up. "Sorry for not asking this earlier, Professor, but how long has this been going on?"

"Beacon's response was delayed for some unknown reason, from what I gathered. The huntsmen and huntresses from private contractors and those from the government appeared on the scene at least two weeks before we arrived." A look of regret appeared briefly in the woman's eyes.

"Two _weeks_." Ruby parroted, her scribbling came to a stop. "How long has Beacon's forces been here?"

Something sparked in the woman's eyes, causing her to frown. "Ten days..."

Lowering her sunglasses, Coco peered at the younger team leader.  _She's got something, doesn't she?_ The brunette crunched the numbers in her mind; her muscles tensing as she came to some of her own conclusions. _That's twenty-four days, not counting however long it took for the city to get a hold of the huntsmen and huntresses._ In her peripheral vision, the fashionista saw her partner gape in realization of the implications. Jaune's eyes darted from her to the other team leaders. He ground his teeth together and furrowed his brow. _Whatever is here in Vale has been going on for almost a month and within that time everything's gone to hell. If this thing spreads...or if it already has..._ Coco tightened her grip on her handbag.

Jaune shook his head, seeming to come to the same conclusion as her. "The huntsmen and huntresses present have been pushed beyond their limits... How can they even be standing now after being on high alert for twenty-four days or maybe even more?"

"They know that if they quit, hundreds of citizens who survived this long will perish." Professor Goodwitch tiredly stated, her eyes focused on something in the distance.

Adjusting her sunglasses, Coco frowned deeply and spoke somberly. "The citizens aren't safe here; _no one is_."

* * *

 

**Friday Late Afternoon: Beacon Air Docks, Outside the Atlesian Airship**

General Ironwood finally stepped off his airship and made his way down Beacon's Main Avenue. His eyes glinted with determination as he strode past students out for a stroll. Some respectfully acknowledged him with a nod of their heads, while others passed him without so much as a glance. A familiar set of footsteps hurriedly followed after him. **Clank-clank-clank! Clank-clank-clank!** Ironwood spun around and saw a familiar ginger with luminescent green eyes. He regarded her with a calculating gaze, his lips curled into a slight frown.

Despite his expression, the man spoke softly. "Penny, what on Remnant are you doing? I told you to stay on the ship."

The android smiled up at him, unfazed by his stern tone. "Mr. Ironwood, please let me help you! My sensors detected your unease and I wish to stand by your side to confront whatever is here in Beacon."

"Ah, Geppetto..." Ironwood sent a withering glare into the sky as he thought of Penny's father, who currently stayed in Atlas. "I... You simply aren't ready yet, Penny. Please stay on-board the airship. I'm sure one of the lieutenants can help you find something to do."

"My performance during our tests proved that I am more than ready, Mr. Ironwood. I can handle some danger. I am combat ready!" Penny insisted, her eyes gleamed with childlike determination.

Ironwood sighed and motioned for her to walk beside him, "Very well. _However_ , if I tell you to return to the ship, then you do so immediately, understand?"

"Of course!" The android happily fell into step beside the officer.

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship, Infirmary**

After being questioned, for what felt like hours, the monkey Faunus felt that he had had enough. _This is ridiculous! We aren't getting anywhere and my head feels like it's gonna explode!_ He ground his teeth together and sent a half-hearted glare at the robot before him. _She or it or whatever they want me to call this thing is getting on my nerves._ _I'm tired of sitting around in here!_ Unfortunately, the robot's sensors seemed oblivious to his displeasure as she continued her interrogation. Sun exhaled sharply through his nose, putting everything he could into a glare directed at the android.

"Do you recall being **—** "

Sun crossed his arms and curled his tail into his back. "I _don't_ know _why_ , HERA! Quit asking the same damn question? It just feels like something's wrong. I _can't_ explain it."

With a mechanical hum, the Health Evaluation and Recovery Assistant nodded her head. "We shall test your recent episodic memory then. Can you describe where you were before you 'lost consciousness?'"

"My friend dragged me into our Leadership Arts class after she received a memo. I didn't get it on my scroll though, for whatever reason. So then, we just sat through the class and our teacher explained...something. Can't remember what it was, but I _think_ it was important." The blond Faunus winced and clutched the side of his head, "Augh..."

"Are you in need of medication?" HERA lowered her clipboard and leaned closer to the Faunus, "Sir?"

Growling, Sun exhaled sharply. "Got anything for headaches?"

Nodding, HERA brought up one of her hands. She extended her index finger. **Whiirr...** A long, thin needle popped out of her finger tip. Before the Faunus could question the robot, she plunged the needle into his upper arm and brought up her thumb. If Sun were in the mood for jokes, he'd comment on HERA's needle-finger. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the mood and the moment went away in a flash as HERA withdrew her needle. Sun sighed in relief at the faintest hints of the medication beginning to spread throughout his bloodstream. The pain slowly ebbed away from his head. _That feels better..._

"That should help you with any aches or pains for about twelve hours." She informed him as kindly as a robot could.

"Right, anyway, after the teacher was finished lecturing us he dismissed the class. I left without my friend and then...suddenly I'm here."

HERA nodded her head once again. "That leaves quite a lot of time unaccounted for, sir. Can you tell me who your teacher is?"

Scratching the back of his neck and letting his tail swing to-and-fro behind him, Sun shrugged. "I can't remember his name."

"I see." The android tilted her head from side-to-side. "Despite your symptoms, I do not believe your are afflicted by anterograde or retrograde amnesia. You remember what happened after the incident, you remember what happened before the incident, but some bits of information are missing."

Sun nodded slowly. "So...?"

"Unfortunately, this is beyond my capabilities." A mechanical sigh left the android. "However, I promise that Atlesian personnel will work alongside you to discover what happened."

The blond rubbed the back of his neck. "I _know_ the teacher is an important person... Why can't I remember the his name?"

* * *

 

**? ? ?**

Sweat dripped from Velvet's forehead as she knelt beneath the lights. Using her free hand, the Faunus shielded her eyes and stood back up. Tentatively, the teen blindly stepped forward.  _Wh-where...?_ She pushed on in hopes of somehow figuring out her location and how she ended up here. _Where am I?_ What _is this place?_ Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath her feet and the sensation of weightlessness overwhelmed her. The pain throughout her body intensified once again, swiftly replacing the weightless feeling. Velvet screamed out in agony, making the mistake of flailing her arms as she fell rather than keeping pressure on her side. It only allowed the pain flowing through her to reach new heights, causing her thought process to go blank.

**BANG! THUD!**

"What the freaking hell?!" A voice beneath her angrily questioned.

Daring to open her eyes, Velvet saw that she had landed on top of Sky Lark. "Sorry..."

"Whatever, just get off." He snapped back, albeit without any more bite. "You alright? You kinda came out of nowhere."

Struggling to her feet, the Faunus looked at their surroundings. "I woke up in a strange room and then I started falling."

Sky seemed to notice her plight and hesitantly reached out to help her stand. Once Velvet steadied herself, her hands flew to her pained side. _The pain feels like it's everywhere and nowhere at the same time! What is this?_ She stifled a scream in her throat, leaning her weight against Sky. Velvet shut her eyes and leaned a bit more into the boy's side. _If only he were Coco... Coco...wasn't I looking for her?_ _No, that can't be right..._ The teen gritted his teeth as she struggled to ignore the fire in her side. _I... I can't remember._ Cheeks burning, Velvet became painfully aware of the predicament she put herself in. Adjusting her posture with a rushed, mumbled apology, the Faunus examined their surroundings once again.

"Do...do you have any idea _where_ we are?"

The blue-haired boy stared at her as if she had grown five heads for a moment, but quickly snapped out of his stupor, "Not a clue. Well...I think there was a platform I stood on earlier, but then you came out of nowhere. Now, I don't know a damn thing anymore."

"Don't blame me for it!" Velvet scowled, raising her free hand to smack him but stopped short.

Sky raised his hands up in defense. "Hey now, hey! I didn't mean for it to sound like that, _Cottontail_."

Velvet glared at him, "And don't call me that!"

"Well, _excuse_ me for not knowing your damn name, you stupid animal!"

"My name is Velvet Scarlatina!" The Faunus growled back, her face in an uncharacteristic snarl as any shred of rational or calm thought suddenly left the Faunus's head. "I will _not_ tolerate your racism _anymore_!"

Soon after she uttered that sentence, Velvet and Sky found themselves caught up in an argument. As they exchanged heated words, the two teens failed to notice a figure materializing nearby. Once the process completed, one saw a man with am eerily calm expression. As he walked towards the duo, platforms formed in front of him to prevent him from falling. **Cl-clack, cl-clack.** The man came to a stop merely an arm's length away from the teens. He tilted his head to the side with a curious hum.

The brunette's ears twitched and she turned to face the mysterious man. Her eyes lit up with recognition. Seeing her distracted, the blue-haired teen turned to see the man as well. His face visibly paled. Curiously peering down at the two, the man felt the corners of his mouth turning up. He kept his expression a neutral as he could; he raised his hand to quiet whatever either teen would start to say.

Before they could react, the man knocked them on to the floor with a wave of his hand.

* * *

 

**Vale, Plaza Fountain**

Shouldering a backpack, Ruby shared a look with her classmates. "Alright. We've wasted enough time asking questions for today. We should start investigating things for ourselves."

"Coco and I will look out for any breaches and see if we can close them." Jaune's eyes gleamed with determination, but his hand shook as he grasped Crocea Mors' handle.

His partner playfully punched his arm, nearly knocking him over. "We should be able to get a few things done before nightfall. Lighten up, will you?"

 _Good to know we're trying to keep everyone's mood up._ Giggling at their antics, Ruby gestured to herself and Cardin. "While you two handle that, Cardin and I will search for more supplies. Hopefully, things will start looking up for everyone once we're done."

"We'll also be on the look out for any clues so we can figure out why the...'monsters' are the way they are." The bully chimed in, checking over his equipment.

Standing in front of the fountain, Professor Goodwitch silently watched her students. Ruby's gaze darted over to her to see the woman's concerned expression. The blonde's eyes spoke volumes of her concern. Goodwitch's hand clasped her riding crop tightly. Her stance tense. Ruby knew the woman had doubts about the plan. _There is no other way for our forces to go on. We're sitting ducks and our protectors are bound to start falling over._ Putting on a brave front, the red-clad girl managed to send her professor a smile.

"Don't worry, Professor, we'll be back before those things become feral."

The look on the blonde's face remained, "I strongly suggest you four remain here and let your elders take care of this. We can't risk **—** "

" _You_ guys can't risk any more than you already have." Ruby countered, her voice slightly wavering at the frown on Goodwitch's face, "Please. We may be students, but we're not entirely helpless."

Goodwitch took a long look at her students before she sighed heavily, "Very well. If there's anything you find that can help us, then please remember to bring it to me. Stay safe out there. Please."

Nodding to the professor as they passed, the four students ventured into the city.

* * *

 

Rubbing her temples, the weary professor made her way back to her tent. _Ozpin must have a good reason for sending students out here. Surely, he has his reasons but..._ Glynda shook her head and looked at the plaza. Her eyes were drawn to the numerous, wounded citizens. Then to the few huntsmen and huntresses who valiantly fought against their fatigue to keep watch. _How much longer can we do this?_ Green eyes flicked to one of the more disturbing areas of the plaza. The far-off corner reserved for a multitude of makeshift body bags. _With luck, our students should be able to find more medical supplies. We've lost too many to infections._ Exhaustion suddenly washed over her, causing the woman to stumble slightly on her way to her tent.

 **Clack-clack-clack.** "Miss Goodwitch?"

Shrugging off the feeling of exhaustion, the weary woman looked up to see the one-armed huntsman from earlier, "Yes?"

"Where are your students? I promised to share information with them." The man glanced around a moment and adjusted his glasses.

"They decided to head out into the city to try and figure out how they could help. I tried to stop them, but I'm afraid they're infamous for their reckless behavior."

The huntsman furrowed his brow at the professor. "They're in the city?! Did you at least warn them about the **—** "

A sharp ache erupted in Glynda's head; she cried out in pain and ended the man's sentence. The professor fell to her knees with her head in her hands. The one-armed huntsman hurried to help her up and she vaguely heard him calling for assistance. She felt herself being turned over by the huntsman. For a moment, Glynda focused on the man helping her. She looked dazedly at his concerned expression. Soon, other distant voices filtered into her ears but they became nothing but faint murmurs moments after.

Before darkness took over her vision, Glynda stared up at the gloomy skies over Vale.

* * *

 

**? ? ?**

Circling around the two teens as they writhed on the ground in pain, the mystery man's eyes glinted. "You two have so little faith. Your peers obviously trust in their leaders' abilities. _Why_ is it that you two _don't_?"

Velvet simply whimpered and clutched onto her bunny ears.

Sneering, the man focused on Sky, who had curled in on himself on the floor. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"Oh," The mystery man drawled as he grinned deviously, "I think you _do_. And I _believe_ that your rebellious actions _must_ be _punished_. Beacon produces _only_ the best of the best and we shall _not_ settle for anything less."

Leaning over the two, he frowned and slammed his foot down. A deafening shockwave emitted from the action. Both teens screamed in agony but the man refused to relent. **Boom.** At this point, tears streamed down Velvet's face. Her heightened sense of hearing hurt her more than helped her in this situation. **Boom!** Sky's back arched at an uncomfortable angle as he tried to hide himself in the floor from the sound. **BOOM.** A malicious smile appeared on the man's face as the two screamed for mercy. **BOOM!** By now, faint lines of red trailed down the sides of the teens' faces. Agonized sobs filled the room.

Forcing himself to stop, the man cleared his throat and adjusted his wrinkled clothes. "Now, don't you two worry. Those injuries will be mended quite easily. However, that damage you've caused to your brains by this...investigation nonsense... _That_ is going to be a problem."

* * *

 

**Late Friday Afternoon: Beacon Academy, Team RWBY Dorm**

Blake re-entered her dorm with a cylinder under her arm. _This is unorthodox, but..._ She nodded to her guests and her teammates as she walked over to her desk. _Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, our plans are less likely to be tracked this way._ The conversation the others had while she was gone continued as she opened the cylinder. Bits and pieces of their discussion filtered into her mind. From Weiss explaining what she planned, to Yang inserting a few comments, to the others' responses.

"So, you think we should try and figure out what's going on ourselves?" Fox wondered as he leaned against a wall.

Weiss hummed in agreement. "Obviously, something is going on here and I doubt waiting around will get us anywhere."

"She's been _really_ proactive in this investigation business since our leaders have gone missing. Even if it's only been a day." Yang chimed in, absent-mindedly petting Zwei.

 _Yang, quit needling her already._ Blake rolled her eyes as she pulled a rolled up poster board out of the cylinder; she turned to face the group with a neutral expression.

The heiress sent a glare in the blonde's direction. "Oh, don't tell me that _you_ of all people aren't the least bit curious. All of the teams' leaders are gone for _no apparent reason_ , and the teachers are acting stranger than usual. Isn't that odd enough for you?"

"I didn't say it wasn't, Ice Queen." The brawler smirked back at her as Zwei pawed at his owner's thigh. "I'm just saying that it's weird seeing you so worked up about this. Is somebody missing Ruby _more_ than _I_ am?"

Before Weiss could chuck a pillow in Yang's direction, Pyrrha calmly spoke up. "Those _are_ some good points you brought up, Weiss. Professor Oobleck acted oddly...lethargic today in class and something seemed wrong with many of our professors."

"Professor Peach wouldn't even let me mix those new chemicals she got recently." Nora pouted as she gestured her arms and fell on her back on the floor. "She said she'd let me demonstrate, but today she was all about 'perfection' or something weird like that."

Ren shook his head at his friend while he sat cross-legged beside her. "To be fair, Nora, you could've caused another explosion. I think she's getting tired of cleaning up the aftermath."

The pink-loving teen shrugged. "She never minded it before... Do you think the pancake gods are punishing me because I had _waffles_ today instead of _pancakes_?!"

"I doubt the 'pancake gods' are punishing you for anything, Nora." The green-clad martial artist sighed. "But, don't you think it's time to start being a _little_ serious?"

Nora's turquoise eyes lost their bright luster as a serious edge settled in them, "Right. I'm sorry, I... I don't do well with tension. I just wanted to lighten things up, y'know?"

"No one is telling you to stop being you, Nora." Blake spoke gently as she unrolled the poster board on the floor. "We're just asking you to tone it down until we solve this problem. I appreciate what you're trying to do though."

"Aw," Yang pouted at that statement. "How come you never appreciate my _puns_? I try to lighten the mood with those!"

Blake simply shook her head at her partner's question.  _As much as I enjoy them..._ A small smile tugged at her lips. The smile quickly disappeared when something finally registered in her mind. All the remaining members of Teams RWBY and JNPR present, but someone else was missing from the remainder of Team CFVY. _Is Velvet still gone?_ Dusting off her clothes as she stood up from her sitting position, Blake looked at Yatsuhashi. The giant teen gazed down at her as he leaned against the wall.

"Hey, where's Velvet?"

Yatsuhashi's stony face couldn't betray the concern in his eyes, "I don't know. Fox and I haven't heard anything from her since this morning."

"We'd better hurry up then," Pyrrha took a seat at another end of the poster board. "The sooner we get this done, then the sooner we can start looking for Velvet."

The blonde brawler of Team RWBY glanced at the paper and then gave Blake a questioning glance. "So, why are we using a poster board?"

Grabbing a marker from her desk, Blake turned to face Yang. "We can't take any chances with Beacon's computers or our scrolls. Call me paranoid, but old school should be the safest thing we do for now."

"It isn't ideal," Weiss murmured as she gracefully knelt down beside Blake, "but it's a start, at least."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Memorial Statue**

Blinking rapidly, Ozpin regained his composure and perked up in his seat. Resting his cane across his lap as he sat on a stone bench, the green-clad man watched as the distant figure of General Ironwood appeared along the Main Avenue. He adjusted his glasses and waited patiently for the other man to arrive. The green-clad man relaxed his shoulders, but tensed when he noticed a redhead with luminous green eyes walking beside the general. With a slight frown on his features, Ozpin stood up and leaned against his cane. He quickly dismissed the frown on his face and started walking to the Atlesian.

"I _didn't_ make all this progress to simply _lose_ it, Ironwood. I'll not have you cheat your way through _this_ game."

* * *

 

**Thank you for reading.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HERA's line of questioning stems from a bit of what I've learned at University about psychology. Now, I'm sure many know that Hollywood isn't famous for its accurate portrayals of mental issues. Some may try and get it right, but most of the time that is not the case.
> 
> I apologize if that sounds too judgmental.
> 
> Amnesia is a delicate thing. Basics: Anterograde amnesia is where the victim cannot form memories after the incident, but their memories from before the incident remain intact. Every day is a new experience for them.  
> Retrograde amnesia is where the victim cannot remember a few days or a week (cases are rare if this is a longer times span i.e. months) before the incident, but really long-term memories, that are facts (name, age, family members, etc) remain intact.


	4. Release the Beasts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What sorts of monsters roam the streets of Vale? What about the monsters within Beacon's own halls?

**Warnings: Language, Violence, Somewhat Graphic Scenes**

* * *

 

**Release the Beasts**

**Early Friday Evening: Beacon Academy, Main Avenue**

_Is that man... Is that Mr. Ozpin?_ Curiously eyeing the green-clad man in the distance, Penny adjusted her pace so that her hand hung closer to General Ironwood's sleeve. _He doesn't look right._ She carefully latched onto the fabric of the general's coat and gently tugged. The man ignored her first attempt, so the android pulled down harder. Ironwood sent her a sidelong glance. Something glimmered in his eyes right before he slightly inclined his head. The movement seemed oddly mechanical, even for the general. _Strange._

"What is it, Penny?" Ironwood slowed down his pace and slightly leaned toward his companion.

The green-eyed android tilted her head in the direction of the green-clad man, "That man. He's Mr. Ozpin, isn't he?"

"Yes, you are correct. You remember him from the tournament, don't you?"

Something in Penny's head ticked. The distant image of Ozpin awaiting Penny and Ironwood at the end of the Main Avenue was replaced by a picture of the green-clad man standing close to General Ironwood, along with a few others. Winter Schnee stood near the general, while a stern, blonde and a lanky, grey-haired man flanked Ozpin. The headmaster of Beacon in Penny's memory bank looked...calmer, less tense than the one waiting for them. Once she remembered what she needed to, Penny's eyes blinked back and saw Beacon's Main Avenue once again.

"Of course, Mr. Ironwood. It's just..." Penny trailed off as they approached the green-clad man.

"Is something the matter? Do your scanners say anything?" Coming to a stop, the Atlesian man turned to look down at her; his eyes darkened.

With an uneasy shake of her head and a hiccup, Penny denied the notion. "My scanners don't say anything." _Not yet anyway; something is blocking my readings._

Ironwood regarded the child-like android with a skeptical eye. "Penny, I am aware of Geppetto's inclination for state of the art technology. He wouldn't spare any expense on someone like you; he wouldn't dare leave his own child without the best tech at her fingertips."

"...Mr. Ozpin seems different." _I don't like it._

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship, Conference Room**

Sun sat cross-legged on top of a sleek, wooden table with his eyes glued onto a screen floating on the wall across from him. "It seems like you're going through a lot of trouble to figure out what's going on here. Plus, you guys have only been here for what? A few minutes? Two hours?"

"We strive for efficiency and are trained to respond immediately to any potential threat, Mr. Wukong." A man sat in a nearby seat, his eyes narrowed in concentration of the screen. "We _cannot_ take any unnecessary risks."

"What about that girl?" The monkey Faunus pointed out, his tail curling and uncurling. "Aren't you putting her at risk?"

"She wasn't _supposed_ to be out there; we _never_ intended for her to become involved."

Sun frowned as he glanced at the girl on-screen, "That doesn't make the situation any better. _Why_ aren't you putting more effort into convincing her that she shouldn't help?"

The man remained silent; the slight buzz from the screen became the only source of sound within the room.  _I think I saw her at the tournament too..._ Sun turned to look in the officer's eyes only to see him pointedly avoid eye contact.  _Atlesians..._ Frowning, the blond turned to observe what happened next. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to leave the airship, find his friends, and get answers. However, Sun felt a deep, throbbing ache in his mind and in his chest. Any action he wanted to take must wait for the moment.

"Mr. Wukong, I don't know why HERA thought to bring you into this room, but you _must_ understand." The officer spoke slowly and powerfully. "I care about Penny a great deal; I don't want her where she is at the moment. But, in order for this plan to work, we will have to trust in my technicians' handiwork and in Penny's skills."

_That dumb robot didn't_ bring _me here_ , _but whatever._ "Even if it hurts _her_?" The blond questioned, a hint of accusation on his tongue.

A frown spread across the man's lips as his eyes moved away from the teen once again. "Even if it hurts her."

Sun shook his head in disgust. _For all Atlas's power, they can't even avoid a tragedy._ He narrowed his eyes and focused solely on the screen. The monkey Faunus curled his tail around his waist, as if to close himself off from the officer. _Hell, I'd go out there myself if I could!_ _Why doesn't he man up and **—** _ A small voice in the back of Sun's mind reminded him why. _Because if the officer went and things turned sour, then everyone would lose._ The blond heaved a sigh and glanced at the man again. Unaware of the Faunus's gaze, the Atlesian murmured something under his breath.

"We _must_ do this, even if it _pains_ me to put Penny in harm's way."

* * *

 

**Somewhere in Vale**

Pulling out her scroll, Ruby turned to face her companions. "Alright, everyone knows what we're doing?"

Jaune grunted in affirmation, "Yep. Coco and I will scout the perimeter and attempt to ward off any Grimm **—** or at least draw them farther away from the camp **—** while sealing any breaches we find."

"You and I will head further into the city, searching for supplies, survivors, and answers." Cardin chimed in after the blond.

Coco hefted her handbag over her shoulder and surveyed the area. "Above all else, we avoid the monsters that Professor Goodwitch and the others mentioned."

Nodding, Ruby grinned at her companions and typed something into her scroll. "Great! Now, while we have a free moment, we need to make sure our aura gauge menus are changed."

The red-cloaked leader finished inputting the necessary codes into her scroll and sent a look at the others. Coco changed her settings with ease, swiftly hiding her scroll somewhere on her person. Cardin wore a look of consternation as he typed away at his scroll settings but performed well enough. Meanwhile, Jaune fumbled around with his scroll. Quick to help, Coco leaned over her partner's shoulder and casually pointed out what he did wrong.

"Keep an eye out for each other," Coco reminded her younger peers. "If any of us fall below twenty-five percent, it'll be smarter to run like Hell back to the camp than try to kill the Grimm."

_We need to take extra precautions._ Ruby nodded, "Don't overestimate your abilities, Coco. You're strong, but you can't be strong forever."

The fashionista ruffled the girl's hair. "Aw, don't worry about me, Lil Red."

"I'll worry about everyone until we get back." Jaune piped up as he rolled his shoulders back.

Ruby looked to her friends with a sad smile. "We'll be fine, as long as we don't separate our pairs for too long."

"Let's head out." Cardin motioned for his partner to follow him, "The earlier we start, the better it'll be for us in the long run."

_He's right; we're scouting, not clearing things out._ "Let's scavenge one of the nearby hospitals. The camp needs a lot of medical supplies." The red-cloaked girl fell into step beside her Leadership Arts partner.

Jaune called out his goodbyes as he and Coco walked in another direction. "We'll head toward the residential district a few streets out."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Professors' Lounge**

"It's the strangest thing, Bart." Professor Peach adjusted her goggles, "Sometimes, I feel like we're forgetting something _important_."

The green-haired professor beside her shrugged, "Perhaps you've spent too much time in the labs, Jamie. I, for one, feel as if we're on the right track. We're priming our students to be the absolute best they can be; what could we possibly be doing wrong?"

Professor Peach released a breathless sigh, "I suppose you're right. I'd better go on and prepare tomorrow's lessons before turning in for the night. Everything must be _perfect_."

"Ah, yes, of course." Oobleck nodded in agreement as he reached for his thermos, only to drop his hand and frown. "Have a good night, Jamie. I'll be here in my office for a few more hours, should you need me."

* * *

 

**Vale, Middle-Class Residential District**

Coco rested a hand on her hip while her gaze roamed over the district. Broken glass littered the sidewalks. Wrecked cars lined the streets with doors opened—probably from citizens feeling in terror—or the cars' roofs were crumpled in on themselves from whatever landed on top of them. Corpses lie scattered around the area; Coco forced herself to look away before the queasy feeling in her gut became unbearable. She adjusted her sunglasses with a sigh, looking for her leadership partner.

Jaune leaned against a wall leading towards an alleyway. His right hand steadied him against the wall, while his left hand rested on his knees. The young man's shoulders trembled. Gagging sounds drifted along in the still air. Judging by these clues, Coco could tell Jaune relieved his stomach of its contents. _I can't blame him; I'd be sick too._ She remained silent and looked away from her partner. _I'll let him take his time with this thing. I doubt that we'll be getting out of this city anytime soon._ The fashionista kept her eyes on alert, wincing as the full extent of Vale's devastation came into view.  _We all need to come to terms with this._

Her eyes briefly trailed over the doors of the nearby apartment buildings before an idea popped into her head. _We should split up; Jaune can handle stuff indoors and I'll strike out on my out on the streets._ Coco glanced at her partner once and then nodded. _He'd slow me down with his queasiness and besides, not many Grimm can fit into the buildings. It'll only be a problem if he finds a breach..._ The teen furrowed her brow as Goodwitch's warning and Ruby's "orders" came to mind. Coco huffed, shaking her head to dismiss those thoughts.  _The faster we can figure out what's going on, the better for everyone involved. They may not like it, but I'm positive I could cover a little more ground without Jaune lagging behind me._

"Hey, Arc?" The young woman called out, lowering her glasses.

A brief choking noise escaped Jaune's mouth before he garbled a reply, "Yeagh?"

"How about you and I split up? I'll deal with what's outside while you head into buildings and make sure the first floor's clear of any breaches. If you find a breach, then contact me and we can figure out how to seal it together." Coco turned to face the blond, who managed to stand upright once more.

Sapphire eyes shifted nervously around. "I... uh...I dunno, Coco. Don't you think we ought to stick together? It's almost dark out and according to that one guy in the camp, the monsters become feral when it's nighttime."

Coco rolled her eyes and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Oh c'mon, Arc. Man up! It's only going to take a few minutes to get our bearings and clear a few areas, yeah?"

"...Fine, just don't stray too far from the building I'm in okay? Vel—er—your team wouldn't like it if anything bad happened to you."

"I can take care of myself, Arc. Your concern is flattering though." The fashionista smirked at her partner before ushering him toward an apartment building. "Go get started on that one over there, I'll secure the perimeter."

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Hospital**

"Of all the things we explore first, you chose an abandoned hospital?" Cardin grumbled as he and Ruby pushed a fallen beam out of the doorway.

Ruby huffed as she dusted off her hands. "Where else do you think we can find medical supplies?"

"Yeah, yeah," The bully grunted as he nudged a wheelchair out of his way. "Places like this rub me the wrong way, y'know? Probably 'cause of all the horror movies my team and I used to watch. Besides, we need to gather some food supplies too; a hospital isn't exactly a place where you would expect to find any nonperishable foods, or any good food for that matter."

"We can't afford to be picky, Cardin. The soup we ate earlier hardly counts as 'good' if you think about it."

"Fair enough," Pulling a flashlight out of his backpack, Cardin ran the light over their surroundings. "Here's hoping we don't run into anything nasty."

Ruby brought out her flashlight, went over to a set of double doors, and tested the handles. "Let's split up to search this floor. We'll regroup at the reception desk before heading up the stairs."

"You got it, Pipsqueak."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Team JNPR Dorm**

Seated on Ren's bed, Nora exhaled heavily. _We can do this; we can find answers. All I need to do is tone down my hyperactivity for a while and search for clues._ She nodded along with her thoughts and hopped from the bed. Looking towards the hallway door, she knew her friends waited for her arrival. Nora sighed once again before she plastered on her most cheerful smile she could muster for today. _I'm bubbly, but I'm not a fool; I know what's at stake. I just hope that all this is resolved soon._

"Ready to go, Nora?" Ren's deep voice drifted into her ears as she closed the door behind her.

The pink-loving teen nodded. "Of course!"

Ren observed the short girl with skeptical eyes. Nonchalantly turning her head to look for their other teammate, Nora managed to avoid his eyes. _He knows something's wrong... My Renny_ always _does._ A brief glimmer of sadness appeared in her eyes; Nora strongly felt it on her. She forced it away and continued to look for Pyrrha. _She should be back soon; reserving a time slot doesn't take_ that _long._ As if in response to her thoughts, the Mistralan appeared in her line of sight with a tense expression. The tall teen quickly made her way to her teammates, as if she were being followed.

"You okay, Pyr?" The shorter redhead hopped closer to the champion, inspecting the taller teen.

Green eyes shifted to the side and Ren quickly deduced Pyrrha's issue. "You ran into some fans of yours again?"

"There's always someone wanting to spar or have me give them advice on their technique..." Pyrrha's tone indicated her desire to drop the issue as she tilted her head from side-to-side and rolled her shoulders back. "Everyone knows the plan, correct?"

"C'mon, Pyrrha, have a little faith!" Nora bounded up to her taller teammate and gently nudged her arm. "We know what we're doing."

"So long as you two don't chase away the others as you usually do, then I am confident in the integrity of the plan."

Ren good-naturedly rolled his eyes. "Going against the plan? _Us_? Who do you think we are, Team RWBY?"

Swatting the boy's arm, Pyrrha concealed a smile at his attempt to cheer her up, "Ren!"

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Main Avenue**

Ozpin's features remained neutral as he looked at his friend. The green-clad man leaned heavily against his cane, waiting to be addressed. After all, he needed to know why the general decided to show up before he could act. Adjusting his glasses, Ozpin quietly observed the uneasy posture of the redhead who stood beside the Atlesian man. Despite her posture, the girl's face showed none of her apparent unease. But, the girl's eyes ever so slightly flickered before returning to their bright and welcoming green hue.

"Ozpin, you don't know how good it is to see you once more!" Ironwood's voice boomed, breaking the silent atmosphere. "How are you?"

"I am well, James. And you?" The silver-haired man tightened his grip around his cane.

"I'm better than I felt a few months ago, I can assure you." James frowned and gestured to the Clock Tower, "But, I'm afraid we need to cut the pleasantries short. There's business I need to attend to in the headmaster's office."

"Why don't we speak freely here, James? Is something the matter?"

The Atlesian General immediately dropped his pleasant expression and clenched his jaw. "This is a _delicate_ matter, Oz. Even if no one else is around, we need to take as many precautions as we can."

"Is that why you've brought Penny?" The green-clad man stepped aside to let the other man walk passed him.

"You're asking an awful lot of questions, Oz."

"Surely, you can't blame me for being cautious as well." Ozpin adjusted his glasses. "Could you at least give me a hint why you've returned to Beacon? I don't believe we received a message concerning your visit."

James raised an eyebrow at the other man, "Strange. Normally, you're five steps ahead of everyone."

"These aren't normal times anymore, James." A brief look of consternation appeared on the green-clad man's face before quickly disappearing, "Very well. Let's head on up to the headmaster's office."

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Hospital: Ruby**

Peering around a corner, the young teen scanned her light across the hallway. Ruby saw broken lights and wires hanging from the ceiling along with doors left slightly ajar. She took a deep breath and ducked into the eerie hall. _Check for supplies, search for survivors, avoid the strange monsters, and kill any Grimm._ Ruby slowly made her way around the wires dangling from above and entered the first room on her right.

**Crreeeeeaak!** Wincing at the door's noise, the red-cloaked leader examined the room's contents. A putrid stench assaulted her nostrils seconds later, but she forced her discomfort away. Two messy beds, a broken lamp, a few overturned chairs, and some blood splattered walls. Ruby stepped further into the room to get a better look before she high-tailed it out of there. Fortunately for her, two small, white cabinets sat together in the corner close to the window. To her utmost horror, however, the origin of the stench blocked her way: a slightly decomposed, headless corpse sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh no..." Squeezing her eyes shut, the young teen backed up into an overturned chair and choked back a sob.

* * *

 

**Vale, Jaune's Position**

Shoving a door open, the blond knight cringed as it toppled onto the ground. Hesitantly stepping inside, Jaune shivered. It felt like something small and impossibly cold decided to scamper along his spine. He tightened his grip on Crocea Mors's handle and shakily waved his flashlight into the apartment.  _I need to get a hold of myself; I haven't been training with Pyrrha for nothing._ Heart hammering within his chest, the young man went further in with his sword held out in front of him.

**BA-BOOM!** Shrieking in terror, Jaune dropped his flashlight whipped around towards the open doorway. "Oh shit!"

It took a moment for him to recognize the wall of rain just outside the door. **Pitter-patter, pitter-patter, pitter-patter.** A brief flash of light appeared before a distant crack of thunder drowned out the rainfall's sound for a moment. Breathing heavily, Jaune collapsed onto his knees with his hand on his chest. His heart rate increased tenfold. _Why couldn't we have waited until tomorrow? At least then, we'd have daylight and we wouldn't have to worry about the shadows in the streets._

Relocating his flashlight, the blond knight stood back up and cautiously peered into the darkness of the apartment. He reluctantly pushed himself forward to investigate the building until a sudden clatter entered his ears. **Clang! Clang! Thud. Clang!** Fear bubbled up in his chest once again. The sensation glued his feet to the floor as the sounds became louder. **CLANG! TH-THUD! CLANG! CLANG!** _Th-that must be one of those monsters the professor mentioned! I need to get out of here; I don't stand a chance against one of those things!_

Jaune paused before he ran out of the building. _Then again, what if it's a survivor? I can't leave them here alone..._ His sapphire eyes flitted back-and-forth between the rain outside and the darkness within. Sighing, the blonde rolled his shoulders back and faced the darkness. _I can't keep running away, especially if someone else's life is at stake._

The teen charged into the room, sword ready to be thrust forward, only to shine his light onto a creature that towered over him.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Somewhere on Campus**

Clicking her tongue at the sudden change of weather, Weiss attempted to cover her face from the water to no avail. _This is no time to be concerned for appearances but honestly..._ To her right, she heard Yang curse at how her hair was now at risk. On Weiss's left, she noted that Blake seemed somewhat distracted by something in the distance. Sparing a glance in the direction her teammate looked in, Weiss couldn't make anything out due to the low visibility caused by the rain. The heiress gave up her attempts to cover her face to nudge the Faunus.

"Blake, is something wrong? What do you see?"

The brunette shook her head, "I... I'm not sure. It's hard to tell with all this rain; let's hurry inside."

"You sure, Blakey? It looks like something's bothering you." Yang piped up, the concern for her hair pushed aside for the time being.

"It's nothing. Let's get inside before we all get sick." Blake hurried towards the library building without a backwards glance at her teammates.

"The sooner we get out of this weather, the better," Yang grumbled before motioning Weiss to follow. "Let's get going."

Weiss sighed and jogged after the blonde brawler. "What could Blake have possibly seen? I couldn't make out a thing beyond the rain."

* * *

 

**Evening: Atlesian Airship, Conference Room**

Sun curled and uncurled his tail. "Didn't you find that a little weird?"

"Did I find what weird?" The man in the room questioned.

"Well, they said 'the headmaster's office' rather than 'Ozpin's office.' Am I missing something here?" Turning to look back at the man, the monkey Faunus was surprised to see the officer looking straight back at him.

Folding his hands together, the man slowly nodded his head. "Astute observation there, Mr. Wukong. They worded their sentences correctly, don't you worry."

Pursing his lips together, Sun slid off the table. He kept his eyes trained on the Atlesian as he settled into one of the leather seats nearby. _What are you hiding, military man?_ Crossing his arms, the blond continued to observe the man for a moment. He took in every odd glance, every out of place movement, and every slight twitch the man made. Sun filed those motions away for another time, turning his focus back onto the green-clad man onscreen.

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Hospital: Cardin**

Forcing another beam out of the way, the tall teen kicked down the door in front of him. Cardin frowned at the sight of overturned gurneys and broken wheelchairs.  _An abandoned hospital is a freaking neon sign that says: Bad Idea! Why couldn't we have gone to a pharmacy or something else?_ Trudging through the hospital's empty halls, Cardin heaved a sigh and scanned the corridor ahead only to pause. His indigo eyes widened at the sight of a medication cart in the middle of the hall. Without a regard for caution, or subtlety, the teen marched over to the cart with his mace hefted over his shoulder. He took his backpack off and carelessly ripped the shelves out of the cart. _The quicker we get out of this creepy place, the better I'll feel._

Bottles filled with liquid and other bottles with pills clinked and clanked together as Cardin emptied a shelf into his backpack. One after another, the teen piled as much of the shelves' contents into his back as he could. Soon enough, his backpack slightly bulged due to the amount of medications within. _I could probably fit a few more things in here; better yet, I could try to roll out another cart with us to the camp._

**Thunk-thunk. Thunk-thunk.** Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Cardin grinned and pulled the backpack over his shoulder once more and turned to look at the hall he emerged from. "Looks like it's time for some fun."

* * *

 

**Vale, Coco's Position**

After shooting down a Beowolf pack, Coco lowered her gun against her hip. Her eyes skimmed across empty streets; the rain's steady cadence quickly falling over the atmosphere like a heavy blanket. She lifted a hand to adjust her sunglasses before folding her gun back into its handbag form once more. **Cla-click, cla-click, cla-click.** The fashionista strolled down the street for clues to where the Grimm entered the city. _There's probably more than one breach, but I'll bet that there's one nearby._

Coco adjusted her beret and surveyed the rest of the district before turning back. "Arc sure is taking his sweet time."

**Cla-click, cla-click, cla-click.** "I'll forgive him for getting a little sick, but clearing out a building's first floor shouldn't take this long. Standing around in the rain and running the risk of becoming sick isn't exactly my idea of getting things done quickly."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Clock Tower First Floor**

Rubbing at the bridge of her nose, Penny gazed up at the many gears turning within the clock tower's glass walls. _Strange...one would think that with all these gears, there would be some sort of constant clicking in the background._ Her neon green gaze focused on Ozpin once again. The green-clad man calmly stared back at her, an odd shimmer in his eyes. Penny reached out for Ironwood's sleeve once again to tell him of her discovery, but a sudden flash of light interrupted her.

A strange fuzzy feeling flooded her sensors. Penny grasped onto the sides of her head to quell the "burning" sensation which quickly followed the "fuzziness." Looking to Ironwood, she saw the man walk ahead without her. She noticed something strange about his movements though: the more she focused on him, the more everything seemed to slow down and blur together. _What on Remnant is going on?_ Neon green eyes focused on the silver-haired man standing near the elevator doors.

Ozpin's eyes shimmered once more before he strode over to Penny. He moved at a regular pace; no odd, slow movements and no strange blurriness appeared while she focused on the green-clad man. Once Ozpin reached her, he leaned down to Penny's level and gazed at her. The android's eyes darted frantically back-and-forth for anything her sensors could pick up, anything that would give her a hint as to what was happening. Without a word, Ozpin straightened up and rested his cane against his shoulder.

Penny stumbled backwards, the rest of her body refusing to listen to any of her other commands. The green-clad man's eyes glinted once again as he stared down at the android girl. An unfamiliar "feeling" overwhelmed Penny; her sensors failing to recognize the sensation. Her hands trembled and the gears in her chest clinked and clanked together faster than ever before. When Ozpin reached a hand towards her, something within Penny informed her of the sensation's name.

_Fear._ For the first time since her creation, Penny Polendina felt _absolute fear_ and couldn't do a thing about it.

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship, Conference Room**

"What is going on?!" The man in the room bellowed as the display on the wall showed nothing but Ozpin waiting at the elevator. "Where's Penny? Why is she out of sight?!"

Sun furrowed his brow at the screen, sending an irritated glance in the man's direction. "Yelling at a screen doesn't help here! And don't even think about trying to ask me; I barely know what's going on here myself!"

"Damned camera isn't responding to my command inputs..." The man grumbled as he jabbed his fingers on a tablet, "I don't understand. We've tested this in the laboratories and it never failed us before! Why is it malfunctioning now?!"

Whipping his head in the Atlesian's direction, Sun sighed in exasperation. "Forget _that_! What about Ozpin?! He's not at the elevator anymore and I don't know where he went!"

Cursing, the officer stood up from his chair and stormed out of the room without another look at the blond.

* * *

 

**Vale, The Apartment**

Ducking beneath the creature's sword-like arm, Jaune screamed in terror. _What is that?!_ He blindly struck out with his sword in retaliation only to slice through air. In an instant, the creature attacked again. Luckily, the blond brought up his sword in time to avoid decapitation. _Thank God for Pyrrha's training...my reaction time improved a lot._ A beat of silence passed between Jaune and the creature. Frightened, sapphire eyes flicked over the monster's features. Instead of eyes and a nose, a smooth-looking patch of flesh rested in their place. A jagged line indicated its mouth, and quite possibly its teeth.

Without warning, the creature dropped its jaw and released an ear-piercing screech. It swung one of its sword-arms down, nearly cleaving the boy in half. Jaune's ears rang as the screech tapered off into silence. He took a deep breath and slammed his shield against the creature. _I need to get out of here!_ Before the blond could backtrack, the creature swept his legs out from under him. **Thud!** It raised both of its arms and prepared to impale the teen. Crying out in pain as he regained his bearings, the blond quickly rolled away from the monster. _Damn it. If I could just get it away from the door..._ Releasing a shuddering breath, Jaune ran past the creature and into the kitchen.

_I'm going to regret this._

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Hospital: Cardin**

Shoving a Beowolf out a window, the bully slammed his mace down into the skull of another Grimm. He sneered at the rapidly dissipating creature before kicking down an overzealous attacker. Cardin smacked the Beowolf in the head with his mace multiple times. His actions stopped when an Ursa rammed into him, which knocked him into a gurney. Growling lowly, Cardin recovered as fast as he could and slammed his weapon into the Ursa's side.

"How the hell did _you_ get into a hospital?" He murmured, retreating into another room to catch his breath. "How did any of these Grimm, especially a huge pack, get in here?"

**BANG!** The wooden door he shut behind him shuddered as the Ursa slammed into it. Sighing, the bully leaned against a nearby bed and nursed one of his wounds. _Those damn things nearly tore my arm off earlier!_ He focused as much of his aura into the trouble spot as he could, cursing all the while. _I wonder if the others are having '_ fun' _too..._ **BANG!** Gaze flickering to the door, Cardin loosened his grip on his wound and readied his mace.

"Bring it on."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Training Room 21B**

Nora ducked underneath the sweep of one of the simulated King Tajitu's heads and rolled away. Springing back up to her feet, the tiny powerhouse leapt up into the air. She twisted her body around in a graceful swirl and slammed Magnhild down into the Grimm's second head. Once one of the Grimm's heads was disabled, Ren dashed into action and slammed both of his bladed pistols into the other head's side. Pyrrha rushed to his side to deflect the angry Grimm's thrashing head.

"Good job, you two! Now, let's take it down." The Spartan woman hopped away from the enraged creature and readied Milo's spear form.

Nodding at her teammate, Nora stepped on Magnhild's head and launched herself into the air. "WOOHOO!"

Ren simply rolled backflipped away from the Grimm and began firing his twin guns, StormFlower.

Together, team JNPR ended the King Tajitu's life and exited the simulation. As their students rushed up to Pyrrha to ask her questions about her fighting techniques, Nora and Ren quickly sidestepped around the crowd. The partners shared a brief look before they parted ways and took up different vantage points around the crowd. Crossing her arms, the pink-loving teen fought the urge to chase away Pyrrha's avid fans. However, the redhead had agreed to the idea of enduring the crowd to gain information.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Main Avenue**

In a daze, Penny felt someone's hand on her shoulder. The hand guided her down the long walkway. Something rang in her ears, but she couldn't figure out what. After what seemed like a few minutes, she and her mysterious companion reached the air docks. The other person led her closer and closer to the edge, until she saw the vast waters below and the city beyond. Sensors in her ears registered a soft voice speaking to her, but she didn't understand what the voice said. Her arms lifted to her sides and her heels barely kept her on the docks. Penny tilted forward and shut her eyes.

The wind whipped all around her as darkness took over everything.

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Hospital: Ruby**

Sucking in a deep breath, the young teen slowly shuffled around the corpse. _I'm so sorry..._ Ruby gently nudged it to the side with her foot as she opened the cabinets. She piled everything in the cabinets into her bag and then sped right out of the room. _W-we...we'd better find a way to get the citizens out of the city as soon as possible._ Her stomach lurched as she took a step away from the room. _I can't believe some people suffered deaths like that..._ Her eyes darkened a bit. _Well, considering the circumstances, maybe I_ can _believe it._

_I shouldn't dwell on things like that._ Ruby shook her head and took a deep breath. The girl bolted into another room and looted whatever she could. _I'll probably find more bodies in here at this rate; I'd better focus on locating any containers in the rooms and ignore anything else._ She shuddered at the thought of another corpse. _I don't think I could cope with seeing another corpse in the span of ten or twenty minutes._

_I hope I don't end up becoming one of them._

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Taking a sip from a new mug of coffee, Ozpin looked at his acquaintance with interest. He noted how Ironwood's posture seemed rigid, how the man's arm seemed to make more noise than usual, how his eyes seemed slightly unfocused. Whatever caused this, the green-clad man knew it would be a game changer. One he'd either revel in, or one he'd need to eliminate immediately. Ozpin tapped his cane along the ground as he made his way to the window; his eyes narrowed into slits.

"James?"

The Atlesian's eyes snapped into focus, "Yes, Oz?"

"I noticed that you aren't focused," Ozpin sipped at his coffee once again. "I'm concerned for you, is all."

"It's none of your—it's...nothing," Ironwood crossed his arms and looked around the room. "Where did Penny run off to?"

The green-clad man twirled his cane around once before leaning against it. "I asked her to grab a few things for me while we talked. She seemed out of her element coming up here."

"Penny is never 'out of her element,' Oz. She's prepared for, ideally, anything that happens."

"So you say," Ozpin hummed as he pursed his lips thoughtfully. "What exactly did you want to speak about?"

* * *

 

**Vale, Outside the Apartment**

Rubbing her neck, Coco strolled up to the apartment's stone stairs and stared at its open entrance. "What's taking him so—"

A bloodcurdling screech filled the air, and a high-pitched scream quickly followed it.

_Shit._

"JAUNE?!" The fashionista squared her shoulders and bounded into the building without hesitation. "Where are you?"

**CLANG! THUNK-THUNK! CLANG! CLANG!** Coco removed her sunglasses as she took in the building's interior. _What the hell was that?!_ Forgoing any concern for subtlety, the fashionista tore down one of the apartment's walls with a heavy swing of her bag. _Just knock a few down and locate Jaune... But, if I do this too much, I'll exhaust myself..._ As wood and plaster flew into the air, something streaked past Coco's head and narrowly missed her precious beret.

She dove to the side and gazed up at the item in question. "What is _that_?!"

"Coco, stay down!" Jaune hissed from his hiding spot by the kitchen counters. "That's this thing's tongue! Y'know, one of the monsters Professor Goodwitch mentioned?"

"Its _tongue_ can do this much damage?" The fashionista hissed back, "It's practically a spear!"

Eyes widening, the blond wildly gestured for Coco to move away from her position, "Get down!"

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Library**

"We'd better grab all the books we need before Headmaster Ozpin calls for another curfew." Blake spoke softly to Yang as they browsed through some shelves.

"Right," Yang traced a finger along the books' spines as she walked down the book aisle. "What exactly are we looking for here?"

Blake's amber eyes sent the blonde a sidelong glance, "A few history books about semblances, if there are any, and a book or two dealing with Beacon's past."

_Weird stuff to be researching for this situation..._ The blonde brushed some stray locks out of her face. "Do you think they'll help us find our friends and classmates?"

"It might provide some light on the situation." The cat Faunus pulled a book from a shelf near her. "We need to gather a lot of information without using our technology."

"I wonder what the Ice Queen's up to..."

"You know she hates it when you call her that, right?"

Winking at her partner as she passed by, Yang crossed over into another book aisle. "That's exactly why I do it, my dear Blakey."

"And you know I dislike it when you call me _that_." The brunette huffed as she gathered a few more books into her arms.

"I'm _kitten_ around, Blake." Smiling, the blonde hummed softly to herself and ignored the glare the brunette sent her.

_I hope we find something useful soon._ Slowly, the happy grin on Yang's features fell and an uncharacteristic frown spread across her lips. _Before the incident with Roman and the dust shop, I thought it'd be easy to adjust being far from Ruby for two years. Now, it's only been a day and I'm on edge._ The blonde pulled a book from the shelf in front of her. She mindlessly turned the small, brown covered book around in her hand.

"Yang?" A quiet voice off to her right tried to pry Yang out of her thoughts.

The blonde brawler continued to spin the book around in her hand. _Something bad must've come up... Ruby didn't tell me because she thought I baby her too much when it comes to dangerous things._ She placed the book back on the shelf and picked out another. It felt heavier in her hands than the previous one. _She can take care of herself but she'll_ always _be my baby sister._ Yang nestled the book in the crook of her left arm and traced its title with her right index finger.

" _Yang_ ," The voice drifted into her ears again; it sounded more assertive than earlier.

"Hm?" Even to Yang's ears, her response sounded a bit too airy.

A hand rested on top of her right hand, stopping its movements. "Yang, look at me please."

Lilac eyes shifted from the book cover to a pair of piercing, amber eyes. "Sorry, Blake. I guess I lost myself in my thoughts there for a moment."

"I'm sure Ruby's fine. She's more than capable of fighting off whatever comes her way." Blake's gaze remained on Yang for a bit longer. "We'll get her back soon."

"That won't stop me from worrying about her, Blake." Yang reluctantly stepped away from her partner. "I'll go look in a few more bookshelves before we meet up with Weiss again, okay?"

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Headmaster's Office**

Leaning against his cane, Ozpin observed his friend as the silence between them dragged on. "James, what is this about?"

"Oz, I told you this is a delicate matter. I cannot tell _you_."

"Don't you trust me, James?" The green-clad man began pacing around the room. "We are in the _safest_ room on Beacon's grounds, away from prying eyes and ears. What is there for you to hide?"

Ironwood crossed his arms behind his back. "I'm not the one who keeps things hidden, Ozpin. Sorry to say, but I didn't come all the way up here to chat with _you_."

"Surely, you didn't ask to come up here for the view." Ozpin's voice became sharp, his eyes even more so.

Fierce brown eyes clashed with steely blue ones. The green-clad man stopped moving around. He clenched his jaw, focused solely on the Atlesian before him. Meanwhile, the Atlesian coolly examined the other man. He furrowed his eyebrows and gestured to the desk in front of Ozpin. Stiffly nodding, the green-clad man waited for the other man to elaborate.

"I came here to talk to the headmaster."

"Then _talk_ , James! I don't appreciate all this wasted time." Setting his mug on the desk, the green-clad man placed both of his hands on top of his cane.

Standing tall, General Ironwood's posture straightened even more. "You _know_ you aren't the headmaster of Beacon anymore, Ozpin. The council made sure of that."

* * *

 

**The story's rating may be due for change in the future.**

**Thanks again for reading!**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun-dun-dun! A twist and more cliffhangers. Tell me what you thought, what you didn't like, what theories run through your mind.
> 
> I'm open to suggestions as I re-edit more chapters to "match" some bits of canon and others to fit the genre.
> 
> Again, thank you for taking the time to read!


	5. Game Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is an older work of mine, but some chapters were pre-written and have been waiting to be published since last year.

**Warnings: Language, Violence, Blood**

* * *

 

**Game Start**

**Late Friday Evening: Vale, The Apartment**

Dodging the creature's sword-like arms, Coco ran into another room and transformed her handbag into its Gatling gun form. She held it at her hip and stood firm. In the corner of her eye, she noted Jaune shaking his head vigorously at her. _He needs more faith in my abilities. I'll get rid of this thing before it runs out of here._ The fashionista ignored the blond's warning and fired at the quickly approaching creature.

 **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** Nimbly leaning out of the bullets' path, the creature bounded up into the air with a powerful thrust of its legs. **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** It broke through the ceiling and left the scene. **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** Coco kept her battle stance ready and looked up at the ceiling; her fingers still tingled with adrenaline. _Did it run away or is it going to come back?_ She slightly lowered her Gatling gun, sighing heavily into the tense air. _Keep yourself ready to swivel, Coco. Ready to swivel and strike back._

"Coco!" Jaune hissed as he threw his flashlight into his bag and prepared Crocea Mors for battle. "We _promised_ Ruby we wouldn't fight the creatures Goodwitch talked about."

"It'd be smart to deal with these things _now_ rather than _later_." The fashionista argued, "We can learn more about them this way."

Narrowing his eyes, Jaune stood firm and tall. " _This_ is what Ozpin meant when he said you're impatient. You may be one of the best of the best in your year, but you can't keep pushing for things to get done now."

Coco scoffed and lowered her gun even more. "I know what I'm doing, Arc. Stand back and let me handle this."

"Don't be so proud as to put yourself in danger to prove a point!" The blond yelled back.

 **CRASH! TH-THUNK! TH-THUNK! TH-THUNK!** Whatever Coco planned to retaliate with died in her throat. She turned her head to look back at the entrance to see the large creature Jaune found earlier. It stood beside two other creatures which stood a few inches smaller than it. The creatures bent their knees and held their sword-like arms to the side, ready to pounce on the two Beacon students.

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Clinic: Ruby**

As Ruby ran through the eerie hospital hallways, something latched onto her foot. Before her mind registered what happened, the young teen fell face first onto a wet surface. Ruby groaned and pushed herself up off the floor. She squinted her eyes at the floor, unable to tell what pooled there. Wiping her cheek with her sleeve, the young teen reached out for her discarded flashlight with her free hand. _I hope I don't regret this..._

Shining the soft blue light over the floor, Ruby realized that she landed in a puddle of blood. "N-no..."

 _Take a deep breath, Ruby. You ventured into the city knowing you wouldn't find anything pleasant; don't panic._ She forced her trembling hands to her sides and stood back up. Continuing her inner mantra of "don't panic," the teen attempted to step forward only to feel a hitch in her step. _Don't panic, Ruby. Don't panic._ She looked down to see some barbed wire coiled around her boot. A tense moment passed as Ruby's mind latched onto a thought that went against her previous mantra.

_Okay, panic a little bit._

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Locker Room**

Putting away his pistols, Ren sighed, "Well. The plan didn't seem to do much for us."

"It wasn't ideal, but at least we know none of our peers are involved in our leaders' disappearance." Pyrrha tiredly responded, settling down on a nearby bench.

"I heard one group of people mentioning the students from other academies." Nora chimed in. "Apparently, Sun isn't the only foreign team leader who is still on campus grounds."

Pyrrha perked up at that statement. "Is that so?"

Crossing his arms, Ren hummed, "Interesting. I noticed that most of the students who approached Pyrrha wore Beacon's uniform..."

"Perhaps, examining the foreign exchange students' business couldn't hurt..." The Spartan woman seemed uncomfortable at the thought.

The green-clad martial artist crossed his arms. _I don't like the idea either, but we need to know what happened to our friends._ He rolled his shoulders back and sat down next to Pyrrha. His energetic, pink-loving partner occupied the other side of the Spartan. _We need to do everything we can. After what happened during the tournament, we can't afford taking any more risks or ignore any possible answers._ Sighing, Ren patted Pyrrha's shoulder. _Besides, the sooner we figure things out, the sooner we can get things "back to normal," somewhat._

Before Ren opened his mouth to speak, the intercom chimed. _"Attention all students, please return to your dorms immediately. Anyone found outside their dorms will face detention."_

"Another announcement?" Ren wondered as he stood up.

* * *

 

**Vale, The Apartment**

"Up the stairs, Arc!" Coco barked as she fired her Gatling gun at the approaching creatures, "They're blocking the damned exit!"

Huffing, Jaune rushed up the stairs. The wooden structure creaked beneath him while the rain's cadence became louder than ever. Behind him, he heard the monsters' snarls growing louder. **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** A loud shriek filled the air once more. Taking a chance, Jaune looked back to see Coco run down a different hallway after climbing the stairs. _Great..._

He dove into a room and shut the door behind him. "This is insane! I'd better call Ruby and Cardin."

Whipping out his scroll, the knight dialed Ruby's number. Jaune brought the device to his ear and held it there with his shoulder. _Better block the door while I'm at it._ As he pushed a drawer out of place, something banged against the door. **Thud.** The teen frowned and hurried to finish his task. **Thud!** _It's getting angry! Come on!_ With adrenaline pumping through his veins, Jaune shoved the drawer in front of the door. **THUD.**

Huffing, Jaune rested against the drawer. "C'mon, Ruby, answer your scroll!" **THUD!**

**Ring...ring...**

**Riiing...riiing...**

_Weird...that monster went silent. Did it go after Coco?_ Jaune's face contorted into one of regret. _Sorry partner... I'll find you again and bring you back home safely._ He lifted his scroll from his shoulder and held it against his left ear. _C'mon Ruby, pick up. Pick up!_

**Riiiing...riiiing...**

**CRASH!** Wide, frightened eyes darted over to the gaping hole in the wall. Surrounded by an unholy halo of wood and plaster, a sword-armed creature emerged from the hole. It hissed and lowered its jaw. A long, spear-like tongue swung out of its cage of razor-sharp teeth. The creature's head tilted about, as if it's eyeless owner searched for something. **Hiiisss...** Slowly hopping further into the room, the creature sniffed loudly.

Its head snapped towards the terrified teen's hiding place. It brought its tongue back into its mouth with a loud slurp, bent its legs in preparation, and held its arms to the side. A bloodcurdling shriek cut through the air as the creature pounced upon its prey.

"Crap!"

* * *

 

**Elsewhere in the Apartment**

Smashing her handbag into a wall as she sped through the halls, Coco ran up another set of stairs. _Stay safe, Arc. I'll bring you back home._ The fashionista took a turn into a room with a wide-open door before she slammed it shut behind her. She wasted no time in blocking the doorway with all the furniture her eyes landed on.

After setting up the barricade, the fashionista strode into the kitchen. "This is insane. What the hell _are_ these things?"

 **Thud. Thud.** Ignoring the sound, the young woman fell back into a wooden chair. She pulled off her beret and ran a hand through her hair. _Alright, time to think through this._ **Thud! Thud! Thud!** Coco frowned and pulled out her scroll. _Maybe I should call Beacon and check in with the Headmaster. Or...I could call Professor Goodwitch. She seemed tense after Ruby told her about the Headmaster's behavior._ **Thud! Thud! Thud!** The fashionista nodded her head in resolution as she put her beret back on.

* * *

 

**? ? ?**

Struggling to lift herself off the floor, a brunette rubbed the side of her head. "Wh-where am I? W-what happened?"

"Ow..." She felt someone move beside her. "My head feels like something trampled over it."

"Right..." The girl shakily sat up using one of her arms; her eyes fixated curiously at her acquaintance. "W-who are you?"

The blue-haired boy eyed her distrustfully. "I... I don't remember. Who are _you_?"

Exhaling, the brunette shivered and lie back down. _That's an interesting question. Who_ am _I? Why are there so many questions and so little answers?_ She curled in on herself, gripping her knees close to her chest. Two furry appendages dropped over her face as she did so. _W-what on Remnant...?_ A shaky hand reached up to touch one of the appendages, causing the girl to twitch. _T-these things are mine... They're sensitive too..._ She brought her hand back to her chest and shivered again.

"Hey, are...are you crying? Why are you crying?" The boy struggled to get on his knees and crawled over to see her face. "I... I didn't mean to make you cry."

Touching one of her cheeks, the girl pulled her hand away to see it wet with salty tears. "I'm sorry... I just... I don't know _who_ I am. I don't know _what_ I am. I don't know _where_ I am or _how_ I got here..."

Sobs racked the brunette's body as her vision swam. A hand rubbed circles on her back. Blinking away some tears before more clouded her vision, she looked up at the boy. He looked down at her with kind sky blue eyes. His mouth moved but she failed to hear anything leave it. Minutes past, feeling very much like hours, between the two. Slowly, the brunette's crying subsided and she lied on the ground as still as a stone.

Finally, the boy's voice broke through the silence that fell over the brunette's ears. "You are a person who is scared, just like me. Those rabbit ears of yours don't make you any different from me at all."

Remaining silent, the brunette shut her eyes tightly and tried to relax. The boy's words comforted her, but for some reason they sounded foreign coming from him. She couldn't place the reason why in her mind.

"I bet you're tired..." The sky blue-eyed boy whispered. "Go ahead and sleep, I won't go anywhere."

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Clinic: Cardin**

Crashing through some metal doors, Cardin staggered into a gurney. The fatigue of fighting finally caught up to him. _All those Grimm... They keep on coming out of nowhere; it's impossible..._ He fell onto his knees and clutched his side. _Where's Ruby?_ His eyes curiously scanned the dark hallway. Broken wires which hung from the ceiling sparked ominously, occasionally lighting the hall enough to reveal the pools of blood staining the tile floor. _I hope the pipsqueak is alright..._

He limped over to the wall and slid down against it. _I should probably call in and check on her... Maybe even the other two..._ Cardin groaned as he shifted around to grab his scroll from his belt. _Damn... Am I going to waste my energy calling those goons?_ His eyes lazily trailed over the scroll's features. He leaned his head back against the wall and sighed. _I think I'll just sleep for a bit; recover my aura levels and then..._

Cardin's vision swam into darkness.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Library**

"Okay, we'd better head back to our dorm." Blake rolled her shoulders back as she adjusted all the books in her arms. "These books will hopefully help us start in our research."

"Hm..." Beside the Faunus, Weiss handled a stack of books of her own. "So, can you explain to us _why_ we need books on semblances and the history of Beacon Academy?"

The brunette glanced around the room before dropping her voice into a whisper. "Remember the day when Ruby and the other team leaders left?"

"Of course, how could anyone forget?" Weiss deadpanned, impatience laced in her tone.

Yang bristled beside the white-haired heiress. "What are you getting at, Blake?"

"I know I said: 'we shouldn't stick our noses into their business.' However, after we discussed it in the courtyard, I couldn't help but investigate things myself. I searched near the classrooms and saw Ruby, Jaune, Coco, and Cardin leave classroom 451."

"Which one is that one again?" Yang queried, her eyes narrowed in thought as she mentally mapped out the scene.

"It's a lecture hall a few rooms away from Doctor Oobleck's room. Not many professors use it though, I've kept tabs on the school grounds since I first arrived here. The room's reserved for something special, but I my observations failed to reveal anything."

Weiss' eyes suddenly widened and her posture stiffened. "We need to leave."

"What? Why?" Quick to respond, Yang swiveled around to see what the heiress saw, only for the white-haired girl to tug at her arm.

"Don't question me. We need to go now."

Blake quickly took advantage of the opportunity her friends gave her by arguing and looked around the room. Amber eyes skimmed over other students looking through bookshelves, a group of students who began leaving, and a table occupied by a sound asleep, young man. _What did she see?_ Finally, Blake's gaze landed on a familiar head of light blue hair. With a quick glance over the books in her arms, the brunette nudged her friends out of the library.

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Clinic: Ruby**

Getting down on one knee, the young teen examined the barbed wire coiled around her right foot. _Remain calm and remember your training._ She gently wiggled her foot to see the wire coil further around her boot, effectively preventing her from removing it at all. _And I ruined my second option..._ Silver eyes trailed along the wire's path to see its origins, but the hallway's darkness kept things indistinguishable for her. _I'll need to call for back-up before this gets worse._

Pulling out her scroll, the red-caped leader gazed at the screen only to see Jaune's contact picture pop up. **Ring...ring...** Ruby brought her left hand to the screen to answer, but another wire suddenly burst out from the darkness and wrapped itself around her wrist. **Riiing...riiing...** The scroll fell to the floor with a soft clatter as the girl struggled against the wire. Once more, the wire coiled further and reached up to the crook of her elbow.

Whimpering, Ruby stopped her struggling once she felt the barbs tearing at her sleeve and the skin beneath it. "Snickerdoodles... I really need help now."

**Riiiiing...riiiiing...**

Yet another barbed wire shot out from the darkness. It wrapped around Ruby's right knee, easily dug into the skin and drew blood. Fighting down the urge to scream and cry, Ruby attempted to assess the situation which would soon spiral too far out of her control. _I need to find a way out of here and regroup with Cardin, ASAP. Moving causes the wires to tighten, so how do I get them to loosen?_

A terrifyingly loud, bloodcurdling shriek shattered her thoughts.

* * *

 

**Vale, Goodwitch's Tent**

With a groan, Glynda sat up on a cot and looked at her surroundings. She placed a hand against her temple and gently rubbed circles into it. **Clack-clack.** Looking up to see her visitor, Glynda greeted the one-armed man with a nod. Adjusting the lantern in his hand, the man smiled gently at her; he set the light source on a barrel near the blonde's cot before he sat on a crate across from the foot of Glynda's cot.

"It's good to see you awake once again, Miss Goodwitch." The man kept his voice low enough to not disturb those who rested in the nearby tents. "You gave us quite the scare when you collapsed."

"I..." Glynda swung her legs over the side of the cot. "What happened after I collapsed? Did the camp suffer any more attacks?"

The man frowned deeply and his voice took on a hard edge. "A few citizens panicked and the more unstable huntsmen caused a ruckus, trying to incite a riot. Thankfully, the guards dealt with the Grimm horde attracted by the negativity, but I'm afraid we're a bit torn on how we should deal with the troublemakers."

"A riot?" The blonde attempted to stand up, only to stagger to the side.

Hurrying to her side, the one-armed man steadied Glynda and respectfully stepped away when she waved him off. "Please, Miss Goodwitch, I understand your position but I advise that you let yourself rest. We can't afford to lose you."

Glynda sat back down on her cot with a sharp exhale. "I will not let unstable huntsmen or any unstable huntresses threaten our safety! Something must be done to keep order or-"

Distant screams tore through the night air, silencing the woman. She stood back up on her feet and frantically searched the plaza. Her calculating gaze darted to-and-fro, unwilling to leave anything to chance. The sound of bullets cracked through the air and echoed throughout the mostly silent city of Vale. Unfortunately, her balance refused to remain with her as she stumbled over once more. Again, the man gently gripped her elbow to steady her.

He looked over Glynda once before bowing his head and respectfully gave her space once more. "I understand your position very well. However, you cannot continue to push yourself."

* * *

 

**Vale, The Apartment: Jaune**

With his shield raised, Jaune braced for the creature's impact. **CLANG!** The creature snarled and slammed the blunt side of its sword-like arms into the teen's side. Crying out, Jaune flew head first through a wall. His vision darkened, but he forced himself to stay alert. **Hiiisss...** Jaune rolled out of the way and scrambled to his feet. The blond knight took off down the hall, his eyes searching for any escape. _The stairs!_ He hurried down the stairs, careful to not trip over any of the debris Coco left behind.

"C'mon, c'mon!"

**Thud.**

The weight of his armor became heavier with each rushed step he took.

**Thud.**

Jaune squinted his eyes, looking wildly around the first floor for the wide-open door.

**Thud! Hiiisss...**

The monster's spear-like tongue shot out past Jaune's right side, narrowly missing his shoulder.

**Thud!**

_Keep ahead, Jaune! Keep ahead!_

**THUD. Hiiisss...**

After it reeled its tongue back, the monster spat out again.

**THUD.**

_It's getting closer! Move, legs, move!_

**CRASH!**

Refusing to spare a look over his shoulder, Jaune ran blindly ahead. _The first floor seemed a lot smaller before..._ Bright blue eyes scanned the plaster and wood littered floor once more. At long last, his searching eyes landed on the wide-open door from earlier. _Finally! I can get help and come back for Coco, I know it!_ He broke into a mad dash for the exit, overjoyed at the thought of escaping the evil apartment building. Before he reached the door, one of the monsters appeared by swinging around from the outside by using the top of the doorway and landing in front of him. **CRASH! TH-THUNK!** A second monster apparently decided to use the second floor.

"Damn..."

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship, Conference Room**

Sun leaned against the wall as he stared up in thought. "What did you mean by that?"

"What did I mean by what, Mr. Wukong?" The Atlesian officer paced about the room, holding a circular flask in his hand.

"You said that the council made sure that Ozpin wasn't the headmaster anymore. What do you mean? Did you call up the council recently and-"

Shaking his head, the man sighed and took a swig from his flask. "The order for Ozpin's impeachment was placed months ago; prior to all of the Councils of Remnant going silent."

"Months ago..." Sun crossed his arms and tensed his tail. "Can you tell me why?"

"No." Turning abruptly around, the man walked over to his tablet and typed something in. "I believe it's time we left."

"W-What?!" The Faunus jolted out of his position and stepped closer to the officer. "We can't just _leave_! _You_ can't keep me on this ship of yours either!"

"Mr. Wukong, do _not_ test my patience. We are leaving because it's the best course of action."

"What about your little attempt at talking to Ozpin?!" Sun knew his questions wouldn't change the man's mind, but he needed to try, "And that girl, Penny? You can't just up and leave her behind! I thought you military types would care more about that sort of thing!"

Exhaling sharply, the man's blue eyes focused solely on the blond Faunus. "I... Do not mistake my action for something else, I _do_ care a great deal about Penny. However, our situation calls for us to leave, Mr. Wukong. We need to go."

"I'm not going anywhere with _you_." The monkey Faunus hissed, turned on his heel, and briskly walked out of the room.

* * *

 

**Vale, Green Meadow Clinic**

Wincing at each movement she made, Ruby resolved to stay as still as possible. _I can't get out! I can't contact Cardin! I can't go home!_ Her mind flew into overdrive as negative thoughts continued to build up in her head. _I'll never see Yang ever again... I'll never see Weiss or Blake ever again... Dad and Uncle Qrow..._ Tears began clouding her vision and a sob nearly escaped the young teen's lips. _I'm going to die here because of some barbed wire._

**Hiiisss...**

_Or I'm going to die because of some monster we know nothing about._ Ruby laughed darkly as she stared at the bloodstained floor. _I'm sorry everyone. I'm sorry for being way in over my head. I'm sorry I didn't tell my team where I went._ Suddenly, something shot past her head and pierced through a nearby wall. Curious, pained silver eyes examined the item in question. _Is...is_ that _a tongue?_

**THUD.**

_I get to greet the owner of the tongue now. Great._

**THUD!**

After she registered the presence of an odd-looking creature with sword-like arms, Ruby's muscles tensed. _This is it._ The creature jerked its shoulders back, causing a large part of the wall to come with as the tongue reeled back in. As the large wall fragment came close, the monster snapped its mouth shut around it; the fragment easily shattered into pieces from the monster's strong jaw. _Aw, crumble..._

The monster acted as if it could see, despite the smoothed patch of skin in place of where its eyes should be, turning its body back and forth. **Hiiisss...** The creature lowered its jaw and allowed its tongue to swing around once again. It sniffed the air and walked around in its odd way. The creature's movements reminded Ruby of any other person she knew, albeit the monster hunched forward more and the tips of its sword-like arms almost touched the floor. It sniffed one more time. **Hiiisss...** It turned towards Ruby as it slurped its tongue back behind two rows of razor sharp teeth. Raising both of its arms, the monster swung at the girl with the blunt sides.

Ruby shut her eyes, hoping the first impact would knock her out for whatever came next.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Team JNPR Dorm**

"We'll need to regroup with Team RWBY tomorrow and see what they found out." Pyrrha sat cross-legged on her bed. "Maybe they had more luck than we did."

Nora nodded while hopping on her bed. "Then, we can kick whoever took our leaders away to the moon."

"Is the idea of breaking legs beginning to lose its luster, Nora?" Ren wondered as he settled in his bed.

"No," The energetic redhead replied. "We can kick that person to the moon after I break his or her legs into tiny little pieces."

Pyrrha giggled at her friends' antics before turning her attention to the window. _Jaune...Ruby...stay safe, wherever you two are. We'll figure things out soon enough._ She sighed heavily and uncharacteristically flopped back onto her bed. The Spartan covered her eyes with her left forearm, willing herself to sleep. _A fresh mind is more suited to dealing with problems than a tired one._ Pyrrha turned onto her side and did her best to fall asleep.

* * *

 

**Atlesian Airship**

Grumbling beneath his breath, the blond gently pushed past a few officers who made their rounds in the hallways. Grey eyes narrowed in thought, the teen stumbled as he felt the ship begin to lift off the ground. He pushed himself to move faster, ignoring the man's calls behind him. _I need to find my team. I don't know what is going on with Ozpin, but I don't want to find out the hard way._ Upon reaching the hatch door, Sun pushed the button to lower it. Sirens blared in his ears as the door opened, but he paid it no mind.

Before he could leap out of the airship, an arm wrapped tightly around his abdomen. Sun growled and struggled against whatever or whoever held him. The body pressing against his back simply absorbed the hits. With a grunt, the person and Sun toppled onto their backs as someone else hurried to close the hatch. As he pushed himself up to stand, the monkey Faunus sighed and glared up at the people who prevented his escape.

"You ungrateful fool!" A white-haired woman huffed as she leaned against the door console. "You could have put everyone on-board this ship in danger because of your stunt."

Sun remained silent.

The man who yanked him back inside stood back up and flicked his gaze between Sun and the white-haired woman. "Mr. Wukong, one day you will understand why we do what we do. Schnee, thank you for your intervention; please report to the bridge and oversee our departure procedures."

 **Click-clack-clack, click-clack-clack.** Sun refused to look in the direction of the Schnee woman as she left. His angry grey gaze focused solely on the Atlesian man. The Atlesian evenly met the teen's gaze and crossed his arms behind his back. Crossing his arms as well, Sun sat cross-legged on the floor.

* * *

 

**Vale, The Apartment: Coco**

Ducking beneath one of the creature's sword-arms, the fashionista frowned and attempted to sweep kick the monster away. The creature simply leapt to the side before letting loose another shriek. Cursing to herself, Coco rolled out of the way of its spear-like tongue as it pierced through the stone counters in the kitchen. Unleashing her Gatling gun once more, the teen fired in the creature's general direction. _It can't escape this time! It's hooked its tongue into the stone._

 **Hiiisss...** Coco braced herself as her bullets burst towards the monster. **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** She watched as her bullets impacted against the creature's body and forced it onto its knees. It looked almost pitiful; a nearly faceless creature with its tongue sticking out, hooked onto something as it knelt on the ground in pain. **Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang! Ba-ba-bang!** Coco sneered at the monster, angry at it for almost destroying one of her most precious possessions. Within seconds, the monster slumped over on its side.

"That should do it." She lowered her gun and walked over to the fallen creature.

Her eyes trailed over its torso to make sure most of her bullets made their marks. Only to discover multiple depressions on the creature's skin. The depressions began slowly smoothing out, thin trails of steam—or maybe smoke—left them as they did so. _It...it isn't hurt?_ Coco furrowed her brow and took a step back from the creature. **Crrack!** Spinning around towards the kitchen counters, the fashionista could only watch in stunned silence as a large part of the counter came flying towards her.

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Team RWBY Dorm**

"This day feels like it's been dragging on for forever." Yang groaned as she plopped into the seat of her desk.

"Agreed, but we're far from done with our day." Weiss sighed, setting her armful of books down on her bed. "Blake, can you finish telling us what you were saying earlier?"

Yang looked towards her partner, tired eyes snapping into focus. _What does she know about what happened to Ruby and the others?_ The buxom blonde stretched her arms over her head and strode over to her partner's bedside. She took a seat on the floor and gazed up at the quiet brunette. Blake's eyes seemed unfocused as she looked up at the bottom of Yang's bunk.

"Blake..." _Don't shut us out again, especially not about this._

Lilac clashed with amber for a moment. A thousand words passed between them within those few seconds. The moment between the two dissolved as ice blue began searching both. The trio sat silently, conversations passed with gazes which only they could understand. Team RWBY shared a dynamic that no one else could break or even hope to imitate as well. Finally, the silence broke with the sound of Zwei whimpering and pawing at Yang's thigh.

Picking up the battle corgi, Yang took a deep breath and petted the dog's soft fur. "So... what did you see?"

"As I said before, I saw Ruby, Jaune, Coco, and Cardin leave Classroom 451. They walked towards the Clock Tower." Blake quietly thumbed through one of the library books she checked out. "I followed them halfway there..."

* * *

 

**Flashback**

Perching herself in one of the courtyard trees, Blake crouched and focused in on the quartet making their way down the stone walkways. Her eyes narrowed in thought as the quartet came within hearing range. _What are they up to?_

"What do you think the Headmaster needs us for?" Cardin wondered, his arms crossed behind his head. "I swear I didn't screw anything up. Recently."

Ruby snorted, nudging the tall teen with her elbow. "For the love of everything sugary sweet, Jerkface. What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, Pipsqeak, I swear."

"Right, sure you didn't."

Blake frowned and leaned a little closer towards the group passing by her vantage point. _Since when did Cardin and Ruby talk to each other? Why do they sound mildly friendly towards one another?_ One of her ears twitched and the brunette focused on the group.

Jaune sent the two an odd look but said nothing about their interaction. "Well, I'd like to believe that maybe the Headmaster is considering letting us stay behind. We've performed well on our previous Leadership Arts missions."

"Except this most recent one, of course." Coco groused, adjusting her sunglasses.

"Yes, well...yeah..." Jaune muttered oh so eloquently.

"I honestly doubt that." Ruby chimed as she skipped ahead of the other three leaders. "Headmaster Ozpin made this mission sound really important. It might be bigger than the Breach that happened a few months ago."

 _Mission? They're going on a mission? Without their teams?_ The cat Faunus shook her head at the thought. _That's unreasonable. I'm sure Ruby will tell us about anything important that comes up._ Upon seeing the quartet move too far out of hearing range, Blake located another tree to perch in. She nimbly leapt into the next tree and settled down on a branch close enough to hear the group's conversation but far enough for the quartet to not notice her presence.

"I don't know, Ruby." The tall fashionista hummed thoughtfully. "I think the Headmaster's just stretching the truth a bit. He always does for these simulated missions."

"Then why didn't he call for the leaders from the visiting teams like Brawnz, Nebula, Flynt, or Arslan? They're still leaders and since Beacon's hosting them, shouldn't they be allowed to participate in our Leadership Arts missions?" The red-cloaked leader countered.

"...Well," Coco shrugged, lifted her beret, and ran a hand through her hair before putting her beret back on. "You got me there, Ruby."

Jaune rubbed the back of his neck. "Aw man...I really hope we aren't going somewhere too dangerous in Vale. I know we're huntsmen-and-huntresses-in-training, but I'm not exactly up to par with the rest of you..."

"You'll get there, someday." Cardin murmured so softly that Blake was positive only she heard it at all.

Coco furrowed her eyebrows and turned to look in the bully's direction. "What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Hm..." The fashionista looked doubtful but said nothing more on the matter.

Ruby bounded farther ahead of the other three leaders before turning to shout back. "C'mon, guys! The sooner we reach Headmaster Ozpin's office, the sooner we get to head back to our dorms and hang out with our teams!"

* * *

 

**Team RWBY Dorm**

"...I couldn't follow them any farther unless I wanted to risk being spotted. Not many students walk towards the Clock Tower during the evening." Blake swung her legs of the side of her bed and looked at her two teammates, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you two about this before. I needed to be sure before I started bringing up events that could've meant nothing."

"Do you think we should ask Headmaster Ozpin about the disappearances, then?" Weiss wondered, sitting back on her pillows.

Yang gently nudged Zwei out of her arms and stood up. "Something tells me that we won't get very far with him."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" The heiress sighed in exasperation. "He's the best bet we have if he's one of the last people who saw our leaders off on a mission!"

"You know what bothers me the most though?" Blake interrupted the two.

"The fact that Ruby and Cardin are suddenly buddies?" Yang offered, her eyes briefly flared red. "'Cause then, I'm right there with you!"

Blake shook her head at her partner, "That's the least of our concerns. We've been attending Beacon for months and none of us have ever even heard of this 'Leadership Arts' class."

* * *

 

**Beacon Academy, Clock Tower**

"James," Ozpin drawled lowly, _threateningly_. "You should know better than to bring _that_ up, of all things."

General Ironwood stiffly crossed his arms behind his back. "I cannot ignore the council's orders, Oz. Your removal from office wasn't without reason. Now, where is Headmaster Claret?"

"He's where he needs to be, James. Just as I am where _I_ need to be."

James shook his head. "At this point, I'm beginning to believe you belong in a detainment center."

Stepping away from the headmaster's desk, Ozpin slowly twirled his cane around. "You are making a grave mistake, James."

"I am fully capable of taking you on, Oz." General Ironwood reached into his coat and pulled out a small, rectangular box. "Do not force my hand."

Sneering, the green-clad man pointed his cane at James' neck. "If you raise your hand against me, you'll only lose it again."

"Ozpin, please," Ironwood snapped his wrist to the side to let his hatchet unfold, "don't do this."

Narrowing his eyes, the silver-haired man shot forward. He aimed the tip of his cane towards the general's knee. Ironwood blocked the stab and lunged at Ozpin. The man simply sidestepped and kicked the side of James' knee. James stumbled forward, raising his hatchet in time to smack Ozpin's cane away. The general shakily got up into a kneeling position before hopping back onto his feet. Far from winded, Ozpin dashed towards the disoriented man and kicked him in the side.

Landing hard on his left, Ironwood grunted and stared up at his opponent. "It isn't like you to fight dirty, Oz."

"I'm simply taking advantage of the opportunity given to me." Ozpin drawled, tapping his cane along the floor as he circled the downed general. "However, I'm afraid our time together needs to come to an _end_."

"Ozpin-" James groaned, raising a hand to defend himself.

Chuckling darkly, Ozpin brought his cane up and pressed a button on the handle. The cogs within the handle turned and a soft green light began emitting from the cane. **Shh-clink, shh-clink, shh-clink.** Soon, the soft light engulfed the cane and formed a blade around it. He raised the tip of his blade and aimed it directly at the fallen general's chest.

"Pity you let your martial skills rust, James."

**CLINK-CLANG!**

* * *

 

**Sorry for the wait, my dear readers. However, you all deserve the best I can provide you with and the best that I can offer will be given! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Review Response -**

**Ever Professional: Believe it or not, I hadn't heard of the Lickers from Resident Evil until you asked. However, reading a little bit about them helped me flesh out the monsters in this story in a few senses. And thank you very much for your patience!**

**Thank you for reading!**


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